ProTerra Foundation

The ProTerra Foundation is a new not-for-profit organisation launched in the Netherlands to support the European food and feed industries in sourcing sustainably  produced, non-genetically modified grains, cereals and derivatives and in particular, soy.

Backed by industry stakeholders from both Europe and South America, The ProTerra Foundation claims that the growth in genetically modified crops is not only a risk to food safety and food security, but causes a devastating impact on the welfare and lives of farmers and rural communities in countries such as Brazil and Argentina, from where millions of tonnes of soy meal, soy beans and soy oil are imported into the EU every year.

The Foundation is dedicated to providing the agricultural and food industries with the tools that they need to achieve improved sustainability performance.  As a result, The ProTerra Foundation has recently become the new custodian of the highly successful ProTerra Certification Standard against which Non-GMO soy producers and supply chain suppliers have been certifying millions of tonnes of soy for more than six years. The programme, originally created by Cert ID, has already significantly contributed to improving the sustainability of the soy supply chain. It is anticipated that placing the ProTerra certification programme under the governance of an independent non-profit foundation, managed through a broad multi-stakeholder consultation process, will amplify its application and effectiveness as well further enhance its standing as an independent quality mark.

ProTerra certification requires a strict Non-GMO limit of less than 0.1% adventitious EU authorised GM contamination, strong traceability, PCR testing at ‘critical’ control points, as well as protection of the rights of workers and indigenous people and preservation of the Amazon and other high conservation value areas (HCVAs).