{"id":46731,"date":"2023-07-05T13:05:46","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T11:05:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/?p=46731"},"modified":"2023-12-11T11:52:13","modified_gmt":"2023-12-11T10:52:13","slug":"gmo-deregulation-disregards-safety-and-consumer-rights-greenpeace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/issues\/nature-food\/46731\/gmo-deregulation-disregards-safety-and-consumer-rights-greenpeace\/","title":{"rendered":"GMO deregulation disregards safety and consumer rights, Greenpeace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Brussels<\/strong> \u2013 The European Commission\u2019s proposed deregulation of a new strand of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) disregards safety and consumer rights, Greenpeace has warned.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

The Commission\u2019s proposal would remove or water down safety testing for GMOs produced with new gene editing techniques (mutagenesis and cisgenesis), and would exempt many from being labelled as GMO products. Drafts of the Commission\u2019s plan included articles that would also end the right for national governments to ban these genetically modified plants from being grown on their territory.<\/p>\n\n

Greenpeace EU GMO campaigner Eva Corral <\/strong>said: “Whether it’s a toy or a face cream, any product on the market needs to be safety tested \u2013 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\u2019s disappointing to see the Commission agree with them.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Plants produced with gene editing techniques are currently regulated under the EU\u2019s existing GMO legislation. These GMO rules include safeguarding measures, such as a scientific assessment to evaluate the risks for the environment and human health before releasing them on the market or into the fields, and require products containing GMOs to be clearly labelled. National governments in the EU can also ban certain GMO plants from being grown on their territory.<\/p>\n\n

Organic farmers, conventional farmers and retailers<\/a> have criticised the Commission\u2019s proposal to deregulate these new GMOs. The governments of Austria and Luxembourg<\/a> have also expressed their concern. Recent polls and petitions also show that people in Europe want new GMOs to remain labelled<\/a> and regulated<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

ECJ ruling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

In a 2018 ruling<\/a>, the European Court of Justice found that the risks linked to new mutagenesis techniques, which do not involve inserting genetic material, could be similar to those from \u2018classic\u2019 GMOs. The Court said that excluding these new GMOs from the existing GMO rules would defeat the point of those rules \u2013 to protect the environment and human health \u2013 and would violate the precautionary principle.<\/p>\n\n

Next steps<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The European Parliament will now decide which committee takes the lead on forming the Parliament\u2019s position on the proposal, and national governments will decide which ministers will be in charge of agreeing their joint position. <\/p>\n\n

Contacts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Eva Corral, Greenpeace EU GMO campaigner<\/strong>: +32 479 60 12 89, eva.corral@greenpeace.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Greenpeace EU press desk<\/strong>: +32 (0)2 274 1911, pressdesk.eu@greenpeace.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n

For breaking news and comment on EU affairs: www.twitter.com\/GreenpeaceEU<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace. We do not accept donations from governments, the EU, businesses or political parties. Greenpeace has over three million supporters, and 26 independent national and regional organisations with offices in more than 55 countries.<\/p>\n\n

EU Transparency Register: 9832909575-41<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The European Commission\u2019s proposed deregulation of a new strand of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) disregards safety and consumer rights, Greenpeace has warned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":46412,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[26,27,30],"p4-page-type":[14],"class_list":["post-46731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nature-food","tag-farming","tag-food","tag-gmos","p4-page-type-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46731"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46890,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46731\/revisions\/46890"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46731"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eu-unit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=46731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}