29/April/21

 

The European Commission has opened the door to exempting a new generation of genetically modified crops from safety checks before being allowed onto the EU market, according to a key study released today. The study finds that there are “strong indications that the current 2001 GMO legislation is not fit for purpose for some NGTs [new genomic techniques, or new GM techniques] and their products”, and proposes a new consultation process that could break with decades of safety checks to protect the environment and public health. If this line of argument is taken up by the EU institutions and passed into law, it would mean that new GMOs – such as gene-editing techniques like CRISPR-Cas – would not be labelled as GMOs on shelves if they end up on the market, nor be subject to traceability requirements in case product recalls are needed. GMWatch

 

 

The Commission's move (see above) has been condemned by NGOs, including Slow Food International, Greenpeace, IFOAM, and European Coordination Via Campesina. Slow Food stated, "New GMOs present numerous risks for human health, animal welfare, the environment and the food sovereignty of small-scale farmers. Without strict regulation:
* New GMOs wouldn’t have to undergo a case-by-case risk assessment meaning that unsafe products could make their way onto EU supermarket shelves.
* No data would be available to track and trace the new GMO organisms and products that end up on the market as they would no longer need to be labelled.
* Severe damage to ecosystems and biodiversity could arise, as no measures could be taken against the uncontrolled spread of new GMO organisms in the environment. Agriculture and food production relying on GMO-free sources could no longer be protected. GMWatch