Food should be labeled
EU Parliament wants to relax genetic engineering rules
February 7, 2024, 8:29 p.m
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Will genetically modified food soon end up on plates in the EU? In any case, the European Parliament considers the current rules for food to be too strict. Researchers see many advantages of changing the law, but criticism comes primarily from the Greens and the Left.
The European Parliament wants less strict rules for genetically modified foods. “The aim is to make the food system both more sustainable and resilient by developing improved crop varieties,” said Parliament after a majority of MPs voted in favor of the project. In contrast to the EU Commission’s original proposal, Parliament wants all products made from genetic engineering to be labeled in supermarkets in the future – even if they were bred using modern genetic engineering methods.
The Brussels authority had suggested that this was not necessary if breeding could have been achieved using conventional methods such as selection. Seeds created through modern genetic engineering must be labeled, even if they cannot be distinguished from conventional breeding. Before less strict rules can be finally decided, they must be negotiated with the EU states in a further step. It is unrealistic that there will be a result before the European elections in the summer, also because the EU states have not yet agreed on a negotiating position. The controversial project would have to find a majority in parliament again after negotiations have been concluded. What is crucial here is what majority there will be after the election.
Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir announced in the evening that there was no majority in Brussels for a position of the EU states. “There is still no viable proposal that does justice to the interests of agriculture, consumers and the food industry,” said the minister. There are still key questions that need to be clarified; thoroughness comes before speed.
Plants could become more resilient
If deregulation occurs, it should become easier to create new breeds using modern genetic engineering processes. Proponents of the process hope to produce plants that have more nutrients or are more resistant to the effects of climate change, for example. Some also hope that this will mean that fewer pesticides will have to be used. Organic farmers should continue to work without genetic engineering. They complain that they are being disproportionately burdened because they have to protect themselves against the unintentional spread of genetically modified plants from other fields on their land.
MEPs from the Greens and the SPD criticized the project. For example, you talk about potential risks to the environment. “Genetic engineering only enriches the big corporations,” said Carola Rackete, the Left’s top candidate for the European elections. At the same time, genetic engineering is expensive and does not help against hunger in the world.
Manipulation of crops is a tradition
CDU MEP Peter Liese sees it completely differently. “Properties such as climate or pest resistance can be achieved in a very targeted manner,” he said. As a doctor, he sees no irresponsible risks for people or the environment. Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger also welcomes the fact that the rules for genetically modified foods are to be relaxed. As Parliament further announced, MPs are calling for a complete ban on patents on any plants, any plant material and parts thereof if they have been bred using so-called new genetic engineering. “This is intended to avoid legal uncertainty, increased costs and new dependencies for farmers and breeders,” it said.
Basically, the manipulation of crops has a tradition. “Since the Neolithic revolution around 12,000 years ago, plants have been bred and genetically modified so that they are more productive and more usable for agriculture,” writes the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. The genome of the plants – i.e. the entirety of the genes – is intervened by selecting the most productive ones and sowing them again. The so-called new genetic engineering is primarily about the genetic scissors discovered a good ten years ago. It specifically controls genes that are responsible for a specific characteristic. The gene strand is cut at a specific point and then put back together by the cell’s own repair system. This causes changes in the genetic material that can also occur naturally.