Planet

NGTs, new GMOs. Letter from organic operators to EU ministers

August 12, 2024

Over 200 organic operators have already signed an open letter to demand the freedom of choice of agricultural and food products without NGTs ( New Genomic Techniques ), i.e. without new GMOs, to be sent to the agriculture ministers of the EU member states.

All operators in the organic supply chain (agriculture, processing and distribution) established in the European Union are invited to join the initiative by entering their data on the ‘Foods without genetic technologies’ platform by 31 August 2024. (1)

1) Open letter to EU agriculture ministers

‘The February 7, 2024 the European Parliament voted in favor of labeling and traceability of all products obtained with the new GMOs. The European Parliament wants consumers, farmers, food producers and retailers to be able to continue to recognize when products obtained through new genomic techniques (NGT) are present in food or feed. (2)

Our companies in the food sector welcome the European Parliament’s vote in favor of full labeling of all products derived from NGT plants.
Many of our customers are skeptical about GMO products. They want to decide for themselves whether to buy and consume them and can only do so if the products are clearly labelled.

Not all the signatories of this letter are completely opposed to NGTs, yet we are unanimous that fair competition requires differentiation. Raw materials and products obtained without the use of genetic engineering are part of a diverse food market and should remain so’.

2) Polluters pay

‘ We are united in the belief that companies introducing new technologies must take responsibility for their commercial decisions, in line with the “polluter pays” principle. They must therefore cover the costs incurred, which especially occur for those who wish to exclude NGTs from their supply chains.

In the interest of consumer protection and fair competition, we want to implement the obligation adopted by the European Parliament for the labeling and traceability of all NGTs in our companies.

We need therefore detection methods for all products manufactured with new genomic techniques, including those in category 1.

Companies wishing to place NGT on the EU market must therefore provide detection methods, reference material and genetic modification data during the authorization procedure’.

3) Food sovereignty, protection of non-GMO crops

‘ It’s necessary ‘a binding legal basis, at EU level, on which Member States must adopt detailed coexistence measures that permanently protect agriculture and the food industry from contamination with NGT categories 1 and 2. This is the only way to offer our customers GMO-free products .

We are in favor of the possibility of national bans on the cultivation of NGTs of categories 1 and 2. We ask you to support our cause and look forward to meeting you’.

4) NGTs, new GMOs. The ‘deregulation’ project in the EU

The ‘deregulation’ project of new GMOs (NGTs) in the European Union, it should be remembered, got stuck in the trilogue phase (i.e. negotiations between the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council) at the end of the last 2019-2024 legislature (3,4).

The negotiations between the representatives of the three European institutions will resume in the autumn, under the Hungarian Presidency of the Council. And it is therefore important to affirm the rights of citizens and operators to choose foods that do not contain or derive from GMOs.

Dario Dongo

Cover image from Being Organic in the EU https://tinyurl.com/2sfw6zwf