The EU desires to to spice up resilience of meals system and cut back the necessity for pesticides with new guidelines on plant breeding strategies.
Plant breeding is an historical follow used to create new plant varieties from present varieties to acquire qualities reminiscent of larger yields, enhanced diet or higher resistance to illness.
These days, because of advances in biotechnology, new plant varieties could be developed quicker and in a extra exact method by enhancing their genetic construction.
Within the EU, all genetically modified organisms (GMOs) at the moment fall beneath the GMO laws from 2001. Nevertheless, plant-breeding strategies have advanced enormously during the last twenty years. New genomic strategies (NGTs) enable extra focused, exact and quicker outcomes than extra conventional strategies.
What are new genomic strategies?
New genomic strategies are methods to breed crops by introducing particular modifications to the DNA.
In lots of instances, these strategies don’t require using international genetic materials from species that would not naturally crossbreed. Which means comparable outcomes may very well be achieved by way of conventional strategies, reminiscent of hybridisation, however the course of would take for much longer.
NGTs might assist to develop new crops which can be extra resilient to drought or different local weather extremes or that require fewer fertilisers or pesticides.
GMOs within the EU
GMOs are organisms with genes which were altered in a manner that would not naturally happen via breeding, typically by utilizing the genome of one other species.
Earlier than any GMO product could be positioned on the EU market, it must undergo a really high-level security examine. There are additionally strict guidelines on their authorisation, danger evaluation, labelling and traceability.
New EU guidelines
In July 2023, the European Fee proposed a new regulation on crops produced by sure new genomic strategies. The proposal would enable a better authorisation for these NGT crops which can be thought-about equal to standard crops. No international genetic materials from a species not capable of naturally crossbreed is used to acquire these NGT crops.
Different NGT crops would nonetheless should comply with stricter necessities much like these beneath the present GMO guidelines.
NGT crops would stay prohibited in natural manufacturing and their seeds would must be clearly labelled to make sure farmers know what they’re rising.
Parliament’s place
Parliament adopted its place on the Fee proposal on 7 February 2024. MEPs supported the brand new guidelines and agreed that the NGT crops which can be akin to naturally occurring varieties ought to be exempted from the strict necessities of the GMO laws.
Nevertheless, MEPs wish to guarantee transparency by persevering with obligatory labelling for all NGT crops.
To keep away from authorized uncertainties and to verify farmers don’t change into too depending on huge seed corporations, MEPs wish to ban all patents for NGT crops.
Parliament is now prepared to begin negotiations on the brand new legislation with EU governments.