Domestic Non-GMO Feed Symposium Focuses on Housewives' Non-GMO Dining Tables
[Domestically Produced Non-GMO Feed Government, Industry and Citizens Meet to Jointly Open New Avenues for Locally Grown Coarse Grains]
Taiwan, China imports large quantities of corn and soybeans every year as feed ingredients, and these imported coarse grains are almost all genetically modified crops. The demand for feed has fueled the cultivation of foreign GM crops and has even more severely lowered the domestic food self-sufficiency rate. If locally produced non-GMO coarse grains could replace imported ones in making feed, it would drive an increase in the cultivation of local coarse grains, promote domestic agricultural development, and also safeguard consumers' health and peace of mind. The Homemakers United Foundation Environmental Protection Foundation and the Taiwan Non-GMO Promotion Alliance, which have long promoted the non-GMO movement, held a "Domestically Produced Non-GMO Feed Forum." The forum invited agricultural policy and agricultural technology agencies, livestock farms and feed industry operators, as well as consumer representatives, each drawing on their own experience to offer practical suggestions ranging from the breeding and cultivation of local coarse grains, the feasibility and cost of replacing imported feed, to consumer attitudes at the market end, hoping that through dialogue and exchange of views among all roles in the industry chain, they could jointly open a path for the development of domestically produced non-GMO feed.
The homemakers' non-GMO dining table
From the very beginning of the non-GMO movement in Taiwan, China, the Homemakers United Foundation Life Consumption Cooperative (hereinafter referred to as the Cooperative) took part in it, and used its own organizational professional characteristics to set off a wave of change. As a consumer organization, product development is one of its specialties, and providing safe, healthy and environmentally friendly daily-life products to members has always been the direction of the organization's operations. Therefore, at the very opening of this forum, Ms. Liu Chia-jui, Executive Director of the Cooperative, was invited to share the development history of non-GMO products, and from the perspective of a consumer group to look at the possibility of implementing domestically produced non-GMO feed in Taiwan.
Non-GMO product development began with a single piece of "tofu." In 1998, in a market where most used imported GM soybeans, the Cooperative found a manufacturer willing to produce "non-GMO tofu," and in order to find a safe source of non-GMO soybean supply, went abroad with the manufacturer to visit soybean producers. With the support of the manufacturer and members, change began with a single piece of tofu, expanding step by step to other product lines and successively developing soy products such as fried tofu, soy milk and tofu skin rolls.
In order to further achieve its operating philosophy of supporting local agriculture, in 2008 the Cooperative, together with this Foundation, the Green Formosa Front Alliance and the NTU Seed Laboratory, established the Non-GMO Farming Area Promotion Alliance, and lobbied farmers to establish non-GMO farming areas, hoping that more farming friends would join in pledging support for non-GMO crops. Further, in 2011 it worked with Wish Bakery to jointly promote the return to cultivation of local soybeans and other coarse grain crops.
In addition to supporting non-GMO through products, it was even more important to let members and the general public understand the difference between non-GMO and GM, so in 2013 the "Go Non-GMO Action Plan" was launched, training volunteer speakers and docents to go to stations, soy product manufacturers and various community venues to share non-GMO related information.
Not only must what is grown on the land be non-GMO, and what people eat be non-GMO, in 2014 the Cooperative began to think about whether livestock animals could also eat non-GMO and local coarse grains. Thus the "Poultry Feed Formula Using Domestic Products Plan" was launched, hoping to replace imported GM corn with domestically produced corn and do its part to raise Taiwan's food self-sufficiency rate, with a target ratio of 10% replacement.
In 2015, it cooperated with Guoxing Livestock Production on mechanized production. Chickens began to be fed non-GMO feed from the sixth week, and in May, white-feathered broilers had all been fully fed non-GMO feed. To differentiate the product, a product naming event was held, and "Shanliang Golden Chicken" won. There are not only cut-meat products from various parts, but also processed products such as concentrated chicken essence and chicken soup.
In the process of developing "Shanliang Golden Chicken," the Cooperative put in a great deal of effort, because using coarse grains as feed cannot be carried out directly with the idea of "from farm to table"; behind it there are still many livestock-related professional technologies and limitations of the current state of the industry, so close cooperation with Yongxing Livestock Production Company was needed.
In addition, because locally produced non-GMO corn is used as feed, the cost is relatively high. Therefore, to expand the amount of feed used and lower the cost, it is necessary to increase members' supported usage. In other words, in the future, if more organizations and manufacturers are to join in and invest, the support of the general public's consumer power will be needed in order to promote over the long term meat raised on non-GMO feed.