The European Council and Parliament have reached an agreement on the EU Commission's proposal to deregulate new GMOs, but farmers' organisations, organic farming groups and environmental organisations are calling for it to be stopped.
On 3 December, the European Parliament and Council reached an agreement on the Commission's proposal on new genomic techniques (NGTs), also defined as Assisted Evolution Techniques (AETs), the so-called new GMOs.
The difference between these new techniques, developed from 2000 onwards, and GMOs from the 1970s is that, while GMOs involve inserting gene sequences from other species into an organism's genome — that is, foreign DNA — NGTs intervene in an organism's genome using genes from organisms of the same species: the result is therefore not transgenesis as in the case of GMOs, but mutagenesis, a mutation.
Under current legislation, new GMOs are subject to the same rules on labelling, traceability and risk assessment as GMOs. Now, instead, a deregulation is being proposed to exempt NGT crops (with the exception of seeds and plant reproductive material) from these obligations. Those to be exempted would be NGT1 crops — that is, laboratory products obtained through precision gene-editing techniques that act as molecular scissors to modify specific DNA traits already present in the plant; NGT2 products, which differ from the parent plant by more than 20 genetic modifications and have known insecticidal effects and herbicide tolerance, will continue to be subject to regulation. A EU code of conduct on patents will also be drawn up.
The rules will apply to both EU-origin and imported plants, while NGTs will be banned in organic farming: the technically unavoidable presence of NGT1 plants will not constitute non-compliance for organic products. Member States will be able to decide whether to restrict or ban NGT2 crops.
The stated objective of the new rules is to make the food system more sustainable and resilient by developing and making accessible improved plant varieties that are resistant to climate and pests, offer higher yields or require fewer fertilisers and pesticides. There are several NGT products available on the market outside the EU, for example varieties of maize, wheat and rice that require less water, and bananas and mushrooms that do not turn brown.
"This is a historic day. The EU is taking the first step towards giving farmers access to a new, Nobel Prize-winning technology. A technology that will allow them to grow crops capable of withstanding climate change and achieving higher yields on less land – declared rapporteur Jessica Polfjärd (EPP, SE) –. This is essential for strengthening our food security. Today's agreement is a breakthrough that reinforces not only the competitiveness of our farmers, but also Europe's position in research and innovation."
Farmers' organisations, organic farming groups and civil society organisations across Europe are instead calling for deregulation to be stopped. According to a joint statement from Slow Food Italia, Navdanya International, Federbio, Aiab, Lipu, Greenpeace Italia, Legambiente and others, the liberalisation of NGTs would effectively open the door to their spread without traceability or accountability. Organic and GMO-free farming would be exposed to inevitable contamination, with the potential loss of the country's agricultural biodiversity. Furthermore, consumers would have no label information on which to base informed purchasing choices, for their own health and for that of the environment.
"In Italy, research is advancing rapidly and field trials have been given the green light – explained Francesco Sottile, associate professor at the University of Palermo and vice president of Slow Food Italia –. It is expected that it won't be long before we see new GMO crops. Nobody can predict their effects, but new GMOs are certainly being developed for intensive monocultures and for the interests of agribusiness. Thinking that the climate crisis and pest attacks can be solved with new GMOs is like sweeping dirt under the doormat. Just look at what happened with glyphosate-resistant GMOs: the result was that farmers, rather than reducing the amount of herbicide used, were forced to increase it. The solution is instead to act from an agroecological standpoint."
Navdanya International publishes Seeds of Resistance, a report documenting the expansion of old and new GMOs and the deregulation of biosafety systems across all continents. The report shows how the GMO–gene editing package is expanding rapidly: in South Africa more than 3 million hectares are under GMO cultivation, while in Colombia transgenic acreage has exceeded 100,000 hectares. In Bangladesh, Bt brinjal is grown by more than 65,000 farmers. At the same time, more than 95 per cent of seeds used worldwide continue to come from traditional local systems, confirming that food sovereignty rests above all on seeds kept by communities.
The study highlights how the increase in GMO and gene-edited crops is accompanied by growing concentration of control over seeds and genetic traits, while the majority of seeds worldwide continue to come from traditional local systems. Independent studies flag unwanted mutations, genetic instability, contamination and biodiversity loss linked to technologies such as CRISPR-Cas and gene drive, in the absence of genuine scientific consensus on the safety of GMOs and NGTs.
Deregulation is opening up a new wave of patents on seeds and genetic traits, strengthening the power of industrial giants and making it harder for small farmers and independent breeders to access and improve seeds. "There is nothing natural about next-generation GMOs: the techniques change, but the same logic of seed privatisation and the concentration of power in the hands of a few multinationals remains," states Ruchi Shroff, director of Navdanya International, noting that deregulation transfers risks and costs onto farmers and citizens.
In his contribution to the report, agricultural geneticist Salvatore Ceccarelli, a member of the Board of Directors of Navdanya International, describes GMOs and NGTs as "evolutionarily losing solutions", because they rely on genetic uniformity, whereas ecology and medicine show that it is diversity that guarantees productivity, climate resilience and health. "Agrobiodiversity offers farmers durable tools to address climate change and pests without depending on patented technologies."
The vote on the informal agreement must now be approved by Parliament and the Council at second reading. If confirmed, it will enter into force 20 days after publication in the EU Official Journal and will apply two years thereafter.