Plants: EU: Open doors for genetic engineering

For a long time it seemed unlikely that the strict regulation of genetically modified plants in Europe would be relaxed. But the proponents now seem to be gaining the upper hand: On Wednesday, the EU Commission intends to present its legislative proposal for a new genetic engineering law. In a draft published in advance by the Arc2000 network, it is clear that the signs are pointing to deregulation.

Elimination of the marking

The documents reflect the status of work prior to the consultation of the EU Commission. According to this, plants that are produced using newer genetic engineering methods such as Crispr/Cas should largely be excluded from the approval rules in the future. To do this, these »NGT plants« (New Genomic Techniques) are divided into categories. Plants classified as NGT-1 will in future be considered equivalent to conventionally bred plants if they differ from the parent plant by no more than 20 genetic changes in “predictable DNA sequences”. Breeders can also insert or replace sections of DNA that are already in “their gene pool.” The problem is that neither the term »their gene pool« is clearly defined, nor is the »predictability of the DNA sequence«.

From now on, however, NGT-1 plants must not contain any genetic material from alien organisms, such as glyphosate-resistant plants. These carry a bacterial gene that leads to tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate. They still have to be approved as genetically modified organisms.

In addition, the draft provides that NGT crops that do not fall under category 1 can also be approved more easily if they meet certain sustainability criteria that serve the goals of the European Green Deal. These include, for example, stress tolerance to drought or heat, but also higher yields or an “improved” nutrient composition. Both old and new genetic engineering remain fundamentally prohibited in organic cultivation; however, no distance rules to other fields should have to be specified.

According to the proposal, the majority of genetically modified food and feed no longer has to be labelled. Risk assessment and approval procedures would be eliminated, only a register entry and seed labeling would be required. The approval procedure for field trials is completely delegated to the individual countries, which only check whether plant varieties fall into category 1 after registration of a trial.

Different reactions

The draft was received differently by scientists. Holger Puchta, molecular biologist at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, described the proposal as “really Solomonic”. Concerns from all directions had been taken into account; nevertheless, the draft is “a very big step in the right direction, for European science as well as for breeders.” For the basic researcher Andreas Weber from the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, there are now “new possibilities to experimentally test the function of genetic variants in the adaptation to certain environmental situations in the field”.

Angelika Hilbeck, agricultural ecologist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, is less enthusiastic. The suggestion just follow the Interests of representatives of genetic engineering. “According to my interpretation, anything is possible, so to speak, as long as an ominous 20-nucleotide limit per gene is not exceeded.” And even this limit is softened as long as the sequences come from an ultimately undefined and potentially unlimited gene pool of the breeder. “The conditions are completely vague, practically impossible to test without sequencing and wide open to interpretation,” says Hilbeck.

Environmental groups and smallholders have already announced protests. According to Alexander Hissting, Managing Director of the Non-GMO Food Association, the EU Commission “recklessly jeopardizes the great competitive advantage of farmers, manufacturers and retailers in Europe, who stand for GMO-free quality products internationally, in the interests of a few players”.

Martin Häusling, agricultural policy spokesman for the Greens in the European Parliament and member of the Environment and Health Committee, also criticized the draft: “Should the Commission’s proposal look like the leak, that would be a rejection of the European precautionary principle and a slap in the face for consumers and organic farmers! Because they don’t find out whether they have genetically modified food in the field or on their plate. This is consumer deception.«

How the federal government will react to the proposal has not yet been determined. However, the traffic light provided in its national security strategy that Germany for the »Green genetic engineering« is supposed to take on »a pioneering role in research« in Europe.