Main stories

Genetically Modified Crops Aren’t a Solution to Climate Change, Despite What the Biotech Industry Says

The European Commission launched a proposal to deregulate a large number of plants manufactured using new genetic techniques. Biotech firms seem to have succeeded in convincing the European Commission that we need new genetically modified crops to tackle climate change. They argue that by enhancing crops’ resistance to drought or improving their ability to capture carbon, climate change may no longer seem such a daunting challenge. If this seems too good to be true, unfortunately, it is. […]

Main stories

Bugs from a Jug – Gene Edited Plants are Not the Only Things to Worry About

As many Europeans protest against new GMOs proposal by the European Commission another area of concern has emerged – soil microbes. It turns out that in the US, the agrochemical industry, without much fanfare, has already introduced commercial products containing new GMO microbes, with many more in the pipeline. So what are the concerns?  Marianne Landzettel reports on a new report form Friends of the Earth US.  […]

Latest from Brussels

A Frugal Farm to Fork – Update on Pesticides, new GMOs, Animal Welfare & Sustainable Food Systems

No progress for the Sustainable Food System Law and only the transport aspect of the animal welfare legislation surviving. Some progress is being made to move the SUR – Sustainable Use of Pesticides regulation –  on, though member states and the environment committee in the Parliament may be pushing in opposite directions. And somehow, Parliament is finding time to really push hard and fast for new GMO’s. […]

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GMO-Free Europe – Still Possible?

In Brussels, resistance is brewing against the European Commission’s bold plans for new GMO technologies (NGTs) in plant breeding, unveiled on July 5. The stage for this showdown was set at the 10th GMO-Free Europe Conference, a collaborative effort between the GMO-Free Network and the Green European Parliament group. Here, a diverse coalition of 200+ experts, practitioners, scientists, consumers, and policy-makers converged to dissect the Commission’s proposal from every angle. Ashley Parsons reports. […]

Latest from Brussels

Commission Releases Slew of Agri-Food Documents before Summer – here’s what you need to know.

School’s out for summer – and soon, the Brussels bubble will check out too. But not before a slew of new and updated regulations and legislations, impact assessments and more, all have their moment in the sun. Soil, seeds and NGTs, food waste, pesticides and of course the nature restoration law  – it’s all coming thick and fast in these heady days. Oliver Moore and Ashley Parsons guide you through the brimming lunchboxes of the Brussels bureaucrats in these final days before summer break. […]

Latest from Brussels

New Genetic Engineering – Small Cause, Big Effect

The European Commission is proposing that plants that have been genetically modified at up to 20 different sites of the genome should be “considered equivalent to conventional plants”. This would be the end of the precautionary principle and transparent genetic engineering legislation as we know it. Op-ed by Benny Haerlin. […]

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A primer – New Genomic Techniques and Sustainability

For the past years there has been a huge debate on the introduction of New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) also known as new GMOs in the agricultural sector. The terms “sustainability” and “sustainable agriculture” have been focal points which arguments on both sides are drawn from, albeit with different premises and argumentation. As the next step in New Genomic Techniques legislation is being shaped in the EU, proponents for the use of NGTs and opponents continue to emphasise their views. Here’s an introduction to the issue in the broadest of terms – a primer –  from new contributor to ARC Thea Lyngseth. […]