Key and Jackson Urged to Intervene against Impossible Burger’s Greenwashing 10/04/2022
Sir John Key and Sir Peter Jackson are being urged to use their influence with the board of the manufacturers of the Impossible Burger to halt the use of unsustainable GMO/GE soy that is usually heavily sprayed with RoundUp.
GE-Free NZ has written to ask the knights to speak out against the hidden use of GMO soy and urge the company to stop green washing. The marketing claims of sustainability for the Impossible Burger is misleading consumers who are seeking healthy and sustainable alternatives to meat.
The fake food makers of the Impossible burger have said they are not interested in “the environment but only the taste”, but on the pack feature sustainability claims designed to make consumers believe the company is environmentally friendly. However the use of unsustainable GMO soy is hidden.
New Zealand consumers expect authenticity from any brand claiming to be sustainable or healthy, but the use of industrial GE contradicts all consumer expectations. Other manufacturers have spent years avoiding unsustainable GMO soy and replacing it with non-GMO, organic and alternative ingredients that are not GMO.
The Impossible Burger was previously promoted on Air NZ flights from the US after the airline was successfully lobbied to feature the fake meat instead of providing local New Zealand made sustainable and ethical alternatives.
Sir John Key has been associated with both Air NZ and Impossible Foods but by not calling out it's use of unsustainable GMO soy has done a disservice for New Zealanders wanting to support genuinely ethical and sustainable supply chains.
Hells Pizza and Countdown are now stocking the fake meat burger, but concerns over its safety have been ignored, along with its contradictory claims for sustainability. [1]
The advent of highly synthetic food that mimics real food has not involved any long-term trials on people or evidence of nutritional benefit. Everything in the product is divorced from nature. The GMO soy isolate and potato starch, which could be GE, are derived from plants heavily sprayed with pesticides before being highly refined (which evades requirements for products to be labelled as GMO).
The “sizzle” Leghaeme is derived from the root nodules of the soy plant and genetically engineered into yeast to produce a red liquid that resembles blood. The product is lacking in nutritional value so the biotechnology company has added a range of vitamins, also produced through laboratory techniques.
The use by some manufacturers of ingredients from industrially grown GMO soy and potato are threatening the environment by heavy pesticide use, extra water use and deforestation of the rain forests to grow the plants. The further milling and processing takes further energy to process into the highly degraded and synthetic nature of the isolate and starch.
GE-Free NZ is also aware that Hells Pizza and Countdown are selling the product and have not been honest in informing their customers by labelling the GMO ingredients in the shop, website and advertising.
“There is evidence that this ultra processed food will be not safe to eat long term,” said Claire Bleakley, president of GE Free NZ. “There are delicious GMO free burgers made sustainably on the market. We ask that customers become aware of the risks to health posed by all GE foods, especially those we consume.”
References:
[1] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2723626
ENDS:
Jon Carapiet - spokesman - 0210507681
Claire Bleakley - president- 027 348 6731/06 3089842