Danube Soya – Improving European GM-free soya supply for food and feed

Abstract

The Danube Soya Association is an international, voluntary, non-profit, non-governmental association promoting sustainable and GMO**-free soya production along the Danube River Basin – from Switzerland to the Black Sea. Founded in 2012 the association counts today more than 200 members from the whole value chain and civil society in 16 European countries. The members share the vision of a protein transition towards more European and more sustainable protein sources for food and feed. The Danube Area is an area of large potential agricultural surpluses and Danube Soya promotes the idea of using these surpluses to replace a part of the imported soya. The goals of the association are to increase value-added in the rural economies of Central Eastern Europe, promote European cooperation as well as a production of constant and sustainable local soya sources. The Danube Soya Association runs a certification scheme that reaches from soya seeds all the way to final products), which can be labelled with the consumer label “Fed with Danube Soya” (for animal products) and “Danube Soya” (for soya food products). Together with its partners, the Danube Soya Association implements and supports dissemination and research projects on different topics.