Today the European Parliament adopted in a tight vote the Commission’s proposal to widely deregulate the new generation of genetically modified organisms (new GMOs, or so-called “New Genomic Techniques” or NGT). A majority of parliamentarians voted to remove new GMOs from safety checks and liability processes, putting health and nature at risk with the release of untested genetically modified plants onto European dinner plates and into fields. But new GMOs will still be subject to labelling and traceability, thanks to a strong campaign supported by hundreds of thousands of citizens. GMWatch has published statements from various NGOs and the GMO-free industry group ENGA here and here. GMWatch

 

 

Days after 35 Nobel laureates and over 1,000 scientists signed a letter to promote new GM techniques (NGT), molecular geneticist Prof Michael Antoniou explains in an interview why it is scientifically unjustified to deregulate these techniques. He advises India to follow the science and not repeat the mistakes made by the EU in ignoring the health and environmental risks of NGTs. He says, "There is little difference in the end between NGTs and transgenic techniques; both use the same genetic modification processes (plant tissue culture, plant cell genetic transformation), which invariably result in genome-wide, large scale unintended mutations. The outcome from the application of NGTs is far from predictable and thus a comprehensive, in depth safety evaluation is required before marketing." He also explains why new GMOs won't solve the problem of global hunger and why claims that they will are pure propaganda. New Indian Express

 

 

A new study, which has appeared as a preprint, highlights the environmental risks associated with the use of new genetic engineering (NGTs) in oilseed crops, such as rapeseed and camelina, Testbiotech writes. These plants are by no means harmless in the environment: A frequently pursued goal is a change in the composition of the oil. However, both increasing and decreasing the polyunsaturated fatty acid content can have negative effects on pollinators feeding on the pollen of the NGT plants. In light of the findings of the study, it's interesting to note that the President of the EU Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has written a letter to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that shows how ill-considered the EU Commission's current deregulation proposals for NGTs are. The letter asks for an answer in response to the opinion of the French food safety authority, ANSES. This authority comes to different conclusions on key points of the future regulation of NGT plants than does the EU Commission and EFSA. Testbiotech via GMWatch

 

 

Field trials of GM wheat and barley are proposed in South Australia. If you're in Australia, please make a short comment on the University of Adelaide project, advertised in the clippings today and due by March 12, 2024. Click this link to access the clips. All the public documents are here. GeneEthics

 

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