International Non-GMO Summit 2026: Strong signal - “Non-GMO” has a future!

Food labelling such as “Non-GMO” and Organic is set to become even more important in the future as a result of the EU’s planned deregulation of new genomic techniques (NGTs). According to the conclusions of the Non-GMO Summit 2026, the agriculture and food sectors can — and will — rise to the challenges associated with the new rules.

The “Ohne GenTechnik” (Non-GMO) seal is widely used when shopping

A total of 88 percent of those who are familiar with the “Ohne GenTechnik” (Non-GMO) seal also use it as a guide when shopping. 27 percent use it frequently, 45 percent occasionally and a further 16 percent at least occasionally; only 10 percent never use it.

Non-GMO Summit: Conference of the European "Non-GMO" Industry

On 21 April 2026, the EU Member States formally approved the planned dilution of EU regulations on New Genetic Engineering (NGT) by a very narrow qualified majority; it is due to be finally ratified by the European Parliament in May. How can and will the food industry deal with NGT in GMO-free feed and food chains in the future? This pressing question is the focus of the third international Non-GMO Summit on 13 May 2026 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

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What are we committed to?

Deregulation threatens “Ohne Gentechnik”

The “Ohne Gentechnik” segment of the agriculture, processing, trading and marketing industries is booming in many European countries. But products made with new genetic engineering methods pose a massive economic threat to that segment. Consistent with the European Court of Justice (ECJ)’s ruling, the “Ohne Gentechnik” business sector advocates that all products made with the new genetic engineering methods be regulated as “genetically engineered”. Germany’s VLOG and Austria’s ARGE Gentechnik-frei made this clear in the EU Commission’s stakeholder survey in the spring of 2020. A summary of our responses can be found in this document.

“Gene editing” detection method

Genetic engineering is genetic engineering and always will be. In the EU, the same statutory rules apply to plants produced with the new genetic engineering methods, such as gene editing (including CRISPR, TALEN and ODM), as to all other genetically engineered plants. The European Court of Justice made this clear in 2018. Therefore, methods for detecting gene-edited plants are urgently needed. VLOG and other associations have sponsored the development of such a method and are campaigning for its use in government GMO monitoring.

“Today, the ‘Ohne GenTechnik’ seal is supported by the industry and fully accepted by consumers. The development of the seal is an outstanding success story in which we have all played a part.”

Ilse Aigner, President, Bavarian State Parliament, 2024

“At dm, it is important to us that people continue to be free to choose whether we want to produce and consume genetically modified food. It's about our diet, about what we feed our bodies every day.”

Kerstin Erbe, Managing Director Product Management, dm-drogerie markt GmbH + Co. KG, 2024

“REWE Group believes that it is necessary, also in the area of new genetic engineering methods, to submit products manufactured using these techniques to an approval procedure including a risk assessment and to continue to take into account the principles of traceability, precaution and labelling. This is the only way to ensure freedom of choice and self-responsible purchasing decisions in the future.”

Dr. Daniela Büchel, Member of the Board, REWE Group, 2023

“FRoSTA has stood for maximum transparency for over 20 years. Everyone should be able to understand whether a food has been produced with or without genetic engineering so that they can make the right decision. Only then can food manufacturers and farmers differentiate themselves.”

Felix Ahlers, Chairman of the Executive Board, FRoSTA AG, 2024

“Freedom from genetic engineering is the basis of our organic farming. We live and work with nature. 'Leaving the natural natural' is our mission.”

Barbara Scheitz, Managing Director, Andechser Molkerei Scheitz GmbH, 2024

“Freedom of choice when it comes to GMO-free is something our customers want just as much as we do. Since 2010, all our farmers have been feeding their milk without GMOs and we now also label all natural products such as butter, whipped cream and natural yoghurt with the VLOG-certified "Ohne GenTechnik" label. We are committed to ensuring that this remains the case.”

Bernhard Pointner, Managing Director Molkerei Berchtesgadener Land, 2024

“I am fighting so that one day we will not need this seal anymore – because everything is non-GMO. The VLOG and its widely used seal help create and strengthen public awareness of this goal”.

Sarah Wiener, chef, entrepreneur, author and former Member of the European Parliament, 2020

“The ‘Ohne GenTechnik’ seal enables people to protect the environment on an international scale while shopping: The logo on milk, eggs and meat shows consumers that no genetically modified plants, e.g., from South America, have wound up in the animals’ feeding troughs. CRISPR genetic engineering must certainly be regulated and labelled so the seal can continue to guarantee freedom of choice”.

Prof. Dr. Hubert Weiger, Honorary Chairman, Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND), 2020

“The VLOG Standard provides us with a practical framework for ensuring that feed production is GMO-free. I contribute my company’s experience in ‘Ohne Gentechnik’ compound feed production to the VLOG expert group and actively collaborate in the further development of the VLOG Standard”.

Artur Bisenius, Management, beweka Kraftfutterwerk, Heilbronn, 2020