Lhe European Commission is preparing to open the doors of the European Union (EU) to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) resulting from new genomic techniques (NTG) by exempting them from the obligations and controls imposed on GMOs.
If this bill is passed, foods containing new GMOs will no longer be subject to a risk assessment, and will neither be traced nor labeled. This is a serious attack on consumers’ freedom of choice and exposes us to numerous health and environmental risks.
Today, 92% of French consumers want the words “new GMOs” to be explicitly indicated on the packaging of food products. With this bill, this right to information, although enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (article 169), will be refused to them. This is an anachronistic project for French consumers who legitimately want to know what they have on their plate. Transparency, at the heart of the bond of trust between agri-food players and consumers, nevertheless needs to be strengthened, given the context of recurring food scandals.
However, is informing the consumer about NTGs enough? The extent of the impacts of new GMOs on human health is still little studied today. Instead of being abolished, risk assessment should be maintained or even strengthened, in accordance with the precautionary principle. Without rigorous evaluation, French food security is compromised.
Major environmental risks
This health risk is coupled with major environmental risks. Genetically modified (GM) plants can mix with wild plants, spreading their genes without control. A GM plant tolerant to a herbicide can, for example, transmit this tolerance to similar wild plants. New GMOs producing an insecticidal protein could be harmful to other non-target insects which play a crucial role in our ecosystems.
Additionally, NTG plants selecting for favorable traits could behave like invasive plants and disrupt the existing natural balance. While our countryside is already disrupted by the fall in biodiversity, climate change and chemical pollution, do we want to further weaken them and jeopardize our ability to produce healthy food for future generations?
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