In the European Union it will be easier to produce and market so-called new GMOs, but for 21 environmentalist, organic farming and consumer rights organisations, it is a worrying decision.
On 17 June, the European Parliament gave its final approval to the rules on new genomic techniques (NGTs), the so-called new GMOs, already provisionally agreed by Parliament and Council in December 2025. The regulation will apply in two years' time and will be valid both for plants produced within the European Union and for those imported.
The stated aim of the new rules is to facilitate access to plants engineered to be resistant to climate and pests, offer higher yields and require fewer pesticides, such as low-gluten wheat, pathogen-resistant potatoes and drought-tolerant maize.
"This is a historic victory for European farmers and for the future of Europe. By approving the use of NGTs, we have chosen innovation, competitiveness and food security," declared rapporteur Jessica Polfjärd (EPP, Sweden), while 21 Italian organisations defending smallholder, organic, biodynamic farming and the rights of consumers and citizens (including Demeter, Federbio, Greenpeace, Legambiente, Lipu, Slow Food and Wwf) consider the European Parliament's final vote on new GMOs "extremely serious". The organisations described it as "an act that fits into the context of a cross-cutting deregulation promoted by European institutions behind the false belief that this will improve competitiveness".
Plants modified through NGTs will be divided into two categories with different legal obligations. The NGT-1 category covers plants subjected to a limited number and type of modifications, also achievable through conventional breeding techniques. Those genetically modified to resist insecticides and herbicides are excluded. The NGT-2 category covers plants that have undergone broader or more complex genetic modifications. The latter will continue to be governed by existing GMO regulations, will be subject to risk assessment, traceability and labelling requirements, and will need to receive authorisation before they can be marketed in the EU. European Union countries will be able to restrict or ban their cultivation even if they have been authorised within the EU.
NGT-1 plants are therefore deregulated with respect to GMOs and will be treated in the same way as conventional ones. Seeds and reproductive material will be collected and labelled in a European register and may be patented. The plants are not subject to traceability, labelling or risk assessment. There is only an obligation to monitor the impact of NGT plants on sustainability.
Italy, historically opposed to GMOs, has opened up to NGTs (or Tea, tecniche di evoluzione assistita in Italian) with the national project TEA4IT, funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry with 10 million euros and coordinated by Crea.
According to Slow Food, the European Parliament has completely yielded to pressure from the agrochemical lobby, definitively placing industry profits above farmers' autonomy, environmental protection and citizens' rights. The organisation argues that diversity is the key to resilience and food sovereignty, while the new genomic techniques move in the opposite direction. Eliminating labelling, traceability and rigorous risk assessments means depriving European citizens of the right to know what they grow and what they eat, while at the same time leaving farmers increasingly exposed to the risk of contamination and the pressures arising from seed patents.
"The deregulation of new GMOs will lead to the strengthening of agricultural models tied to monocultures, the exploitation of resources, the impoverishment of biodiversity and the loss of farmers' sovereignty," said Francesco Sottile, vice president of Slow Food Italia and agronomist. "In this case, there is also a lack of respect for consumers, who will not be able to make a free choice but will be increasingly conditioned by those who wish to drive consumption according to profit-driven logic. Another heavy blow against any hope of an agroecological transition, as if the global crises — climate, social, economic — were not a problem for today's political decision-makers, leaving future generations with the responsibility of responding."
For Demeter Italia, the association of biodynamic producers and processors, too, the European Parliament's decision is a deeply worrying one, marking the first time in the history of the European Union that legislators reduce, rather than expand, the information available to consumers on food product labels. The association reaffirms its commitment to safeguarding with even greater strength and determination biodynamic farming, the farmers and the consumers who, with growing awareness, choose organic and biodynamic products not only to protect their health, but also to respect the ecosystem. "Biodynamic farming has always valued and protected the self-production of seeds, the custodianship of ancient and local varieties, and biodiversity as a common heritage. On this front we will commit ourselves even more," said Enrico Amico, president of Demeter Italia.
"This chapter does not close with the vote: on the contrary, the actions we will need to take in the near future are being reinforced. We are already working on this, certain of the value of nature and of the future of us all.
Enrico Amico, presidente Demeter Italia
The associations are calling on all stakeholders to use every available tool to counter and limit the effects of deregulation, oppose the concentration of power in the hands of seed multinationals, and safeguard the food sovereignty of territories, in defence of biodiversity, farmers' rights to seeds, and the right to produce and consume food free from GMOs.