Attention Ethical Consumers: Meadow Lea Alert

In August 2009  Goldman Fielder’s claimed of its Meadow Lea margarine:

Farmers grow our canola & sunflower seeds
MeadowLea spreads are made from over 70,000 natural seeds. The canola seeds that go into our MeadowLea spreads are Non-Genetically Modified. Our canola seeds are sourced locally from Australian Seed growers, whilst the sunflower seeds are sourced from the warm climate of South America.

In August 2013 Goldman Fielder's claimed:

The canola oil in MeadowLea comes from canola seeds grown in Australia. MeadowLea is proud to be supporting Australian Farmers, as we select only Australian grown canola seeds to make MeadowLea. In Australia canola is grown in the winter months, harvested in November / December and is the largest oil seed crop grown in Australia.

Sunflowers are native to South America and MeadowLea's sunflower seeds come from Argentina. Sunflowers are a summer crop and can grow as high as 2 metres.

Its margarine packaging now omits any reference to non-GM canola seed:

Goldman Fielder’s non-genetically modified claims were always somewhat misleading as only 52 per cent of the vegetable oil listed is/was produced from canola and sunflower seeds, with 48 per cent of the remaining oil unidentified.

This reluctance to identify all oils leads one to suspect the presence of environmentally destructive palm oil form SE Asia.

However to see this company abandon any commitment – however small - to consumers who prefer GMO free foods is disappointing.

A product to avoid at the supermarket.