IFOAM Organics Europe calls for EU to uphold ban on novel genomic techniques

06 Dec 2023 --- IFOAM Organics Europe has called on members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and member states to maintain the ban on using novel genomic techniques (NGTs) in organic production as laid out in the European Commission’s proposal. NGTs are techniques capable of changing the genetic material of an organism and have been developed since 2001.

“MEPs should not rule organics against their own choice. In June, the overwhelming majority of the European organic movement voted to remain GMO-free (genetically modified organisms), as reflected in the Commission’s proposal,” says Jan Plagge, president of IFOAM Organics.

“It would be shocking if MEPs decided to delete the ban of NGTs in organic production and impose the use of NGTs to all producers in Europe, organic or not.”

NGTs are based on gene transfer, such as mutagenesis, cisgenesis and intragenesis or rely on genome (or gene) editing accuracy. The most prominent gene-editing tool is based on the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) technology.

Nutrition Insight contacted the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development but has yet to receive a response.

Pursuing full traceability
IFOAM Organics Europe has urged Parliament to respect the choice of organic farmers and operators not to use the techniques. Earlier this year, concerns about the EU becoming lax mounted around the gene-editing regulation.

A coalition of more than 50 food and environmental organizations joined forces to oppose EU proposals to allow NGT foods to reach markets without going through the existing GMO approval process.

“Exempting certain NGTs from risk assessment and traceability would have important consequences for the food production sector in Europe, much beyond the organic market, and these discussions should not be rushed, neither in the European Parliament nor among the member states in the Council,” says Plagge.Organic farmers and producers have called for the ban on NGTs to be maintained.

On 5 July, the Commission tabled a proposal for a regulation on certain NGTs, establishing two categories of plants obtained by NGTs — plants comparable to naturally occurring or conventional plants and plants with more complex modifications.

IFOAM Organics Europe called on policymakers to include full traceability on the use of NGTs in the production chain and the possibility for coexistence measures at a national level in the legislative proposal.

“Transparency and traceability of NGTs are essential for breeders and farmers, as well as for processors, retailers and consumers,” emphasized Bernard Lignon, board member and sector representative for processing and trade at IFOAM Organics Europe.

“We call on MEPs and member states to include traceability of NGTs all along the production chain and the possibility to take coexistence measures to protect conventional and organic operators from pollen flow and contamination.”

Current legislation
The EU legislation on GMOs is one of the strictest in the world, with the objectives to protect human and animal health and the environment in accordance with a precautionary principle and to ensure a well-functioning internal market.

The EU’s GMO legislation stems from 1990, when the first two directives regulating its use were enacted. Whether an organism obtained through NGTs is considered a GMO depends on the interpretation of the definition in Article 2(2) of Directive 2001/18/EC — “an organism, with the exception of human beings, in which the genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and natural recombination.”

Regarding traceability, the Commission opted for a hybrid solution. For “category 1 NGT plants” produced by new genomic techniques, the mandatory labeling that applies to GMOs is abandoned.

At the consumer level, traceability is guaranteed through labeling seeds and creating a new, publicly accessible database listing all “category 1 NGT plants” and through the variety catalogs of the plant reproductive material or forest reproductive material legislation.

Mandatory labeling applies to products intended for plant reproduction. The Commission maintains mandatory labeling for all “category 2 NGT plants,” indicating that the product is a GMO.Earlier this year, organic producers were concerned that the EU had become lax on its GMO policies.

A proposal for such labeling needs to be provided in the application for authorization and specified in the authorization decision To enable operators to use this complementary labeling and avoid misleading or confusing indications.

Upcoming voting opportunities
At the press conference in Brussels on 30 November, the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU expressed its will to reach a general approach in the Council of Ministers on 10–11 December, with preparatory meetings planned next week.

The European Parliament Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development is expected to vote on its opinion next week from 11 December, while negotiations on compromise amendments have started in the Parliament’s Environment Committee, with the rapporteur intending to vote in committee on 11 January. A vote in the Parliament’s full Plenary is scheduled around 15 January.

Meanwhile, the Genetic Technology Bill (Precision Breeding) has been given Royal Assent in England, which brings in a new law that will help develop foods with increased nutritional value, maximized flavor and longer shelf life.

In addition, major chemical companies and grassroots agriculture groups are locked in a dispute over the use of next-generation GMOs in farming as lawmakers debate the European Commission’s controversial proposal to deregulate NGTs widely.

By Inga de Jong

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