Nature too is at risk

The Commission has published its proposal to weaken regulations around new GMOs and its answers to some FAQs on the topic.

Below are the responses of Friends of the Earth Europe (1) and Greenpeace (2).

1. The EU Commission’s new GMOs proposal sacrifices consumers’ rights and puts nature at risk

2. GMO deregulation disregards safety and consumer rights, Greenpeace

Blank cheque for the genetic engineering industry

1. The EU fulfils wishes of the genetic engineering corporations – Swiss Alliance Gentechfrei SAG

2. Blank check for the genetic engineering industry – AbL e.V.

Austrian government says proposal is "unacceptable"

1. EU Commission proposal to deregulate new GMOs in spectacular submission to the biotech industry – Corporate Europe Observatory

2. Deregulation of new genomic techniques – GMO-free agriculture and food production is at stake – ENGA

3. GLOBAL 2000 on the new genetic engineering bill: Fatal for environment and consumers – Global 2000

4. NGT proposal a step backward for biosafety, freedom of choice and consumers’ information – IFOAM

5. Statement of German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke

6. Austrian government statement: EU proposal on “new genetic engineering” unacceptable

7. Genetic engineering-free plant breeding and seed production soon no longer possible? – IG Saatgut

8. Seed law reform and new genetic engineering: double attack on our seeds! – ARCHE NOAH

Corporate interests trump freedom of choice and biosafety

1. Corporate interests trump freedom of choice and biosafety – Biodynamic Federation Demeter International

2. The European Commission proposal on new GMOs is incompatible with the precautionary principle – GMO-Free Italy Coalition

Proposed deregulation goes against science – Testbiotech analysis

The EU Commission today published a proposal for the deregulation of plants derived from of New GE (new genetic engineering or new genomic techniques, NGTs). For this purpose, the Commission has attempted to establish a new "Category 1" of plants derived from New GE processes which would be exempt from current GMO regulation. New GE plants in this new category would be seen as safe as those derived from conventional breeding. The plants would not be subjected to mandatory risk assessment, they would only require notification. In addition, there would be no labelling requirements for food derived from these plants or a request for methods of detection.

Today, a worrying proposal to deregulate new GMOs (or “new genomic techniques” (NGT)) in the European Union has been released by the European Commission. This is bad news for our food, biodiversity, farmers and for citizens. Slow Food rejects the Commission’s plans to exempt the majority of new GMOs from existing GMO requirements, which means they will no longer be subject to risk assessment for human health and the environment, traceability throughout the food chain nor labeling for consumers.

Madeleine Coste, Slow Food’s Director of Advocacy comments: “The proposal to deregulate new GMOs sacrifices farmers and consumers’ rights, and the environment in order to please agribusiness. It represents a true setback in the transition to agroecology that we urgently need.”

Brussels – The European Commission’s proposed deregulation of a new strand of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) disregards safety and consumer rights, Greenpeace has warned.

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Greenpeace EU GMO campaigner Eva Corral said: “Whether it’s a toy or a face cream, any product on the market needs to be safety tested – why would there be an exemption for GMOs that end up on our fields or in our plates? Biotech companies have long considered these safety procedures an unnecessary bother and it’s disappointing to see the Commission agree with them.”

We are writing to express our concerns about a possible flood of patented seeds entering the EU market as a result of the Commission's far-reaching dismantling of the EU's GMO regulations. With its upcoming proposal on new genomic techniques (NGT), the Commission intends to exempt a vast majority of GM crops from the EU's GMO regulations. The vast majority of plants developed with new genomic techniques – if not all of them – are covered by patents. We are deeply concerned about the impact of these patents on farmers' rights to seeds, small- and medium-sized conventional and organic plant breeders, consumers, our food system, and cultivated plant diversity.

As the European Commission gets ready to unveil its new proposal to widely deregulate the new generation of genetically modified organisms (new GMOs) or so-called New Genomic Techniques (NGTs), the debate is heating up.

So far discussions mainly focus on how risky or safe new GMOs are, or could be. However, the question that is at least as important for farmers, food processors, food retail and consumers, is that of how new GMOs must be labelled.

In the EU, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are strictly regulated in order to protect human and animal health and the environment. We examine why the current EU legislation works well for both the industry and the consumer.

In the EU, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are strictly regulated, by a legal framework, which - according to the EU Commission’s website - aims to protect human and animal health and the environment, by having a safety assessment “of the highest possible standards” at EU level before any product is placed on the market.