PRESS RELEASE
ANTI- GM PROTESTORS TARGET OXFORD TESCO
15th February, 2011

[Oxford] This morning, as part of a nationwide day of action on genetically modified (GM) products in UK supermarkets, two groups of protesters entered Tesco’s on Cowley Road in Oxford to warn customers who might be unwittingly buying GM products.
Protesters were drawing attention to some lines of KTC and Pride cooking oils which contain GM soya oil.
Tesco’s own “ethical trading standards policy” confirms that consumers “continue to tell us that they are not yet convinced of the benefits of GM”. However, the supermarket chain, along with Somerfield, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, and even the Co-op, are no longer GM-free zones. In fact, “KTC” and “Pride” cooking oil, Hershey’s Nutrageous chocolate bars, Schwartz seasoned Salad Topping and General Mills Bacos Bacon Flavour Soya Chips all contain GM ingredients and are on sale in British supermarkets.{1} This is in addition to dairy and meat products that come from animals that were fed on GM feed.{2}
Protesters were keen to talk to interested shoppers. One group delivered a letter to the store manager and explained to her that GM doesn’t just pose problems for food safety, but also has devastating impacts on small farmers and sustainable agriculture {3} The other group warned shoppers over a loudhailer that Tesco sells GM products.
Local resident Janine Tillworth, 31, commented, “Where GM soya is grown in Latin America it leads to massive ‘green deserts’ of a single crop, sprayed from the air by powerful herbicides, to the cost of the people and wildlife that live there. We don’t want to support that kind of agriculture.”
A successful campaign of consumer pressure and direct action halted the spread of GM in British fields and supermarkets nearly ten years ago. In other European countries, as well as India and many parts of Africa and Latin America people have continued to attend demonstrations, target supermarkets and rip up GM crops in order to protect their health and livelihoods {4} Now it looks like the campaign against GM might be gathering momentum in Britain again.
One protester, Teaching Assistant, Clare Kersey, said “By stocking KTC GM-soya oil Tesco have demonstrated a complete disregard for the legitimate concerns of their customers. If they were asking if there are still people who will oppose GM, we have answered: absolutely, yes.”
The demonstration ended peacefully. Further protests seem likely to follow.

Notes to the editor:

1.A list of products containing GM ingredients in Britain can be found on the GM Freeze website at www.gmfreeze.org/page.asp?ID=377.
2.See the Soil Association report Silent Invasion: the hidden use of GM crops in livestock feed for details about GM fed meat and dairy.
3. For a comprehensive overview of the ways in which GM poses a threat to sustainable farming and social justice, see stopgm.org.uk/whats-wrong-with-gm.html. A detailed article about the impact of introducing GM soya to Argentina by the Institute of Science in Society can be found at www.i-sis.org.uk/AGMW.php
4. Details of the resistance to GM around the world can be found on the Stop GM website at stopgm.org.uk/resistance-to-gm.html