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Green Week 2024: Important commitments to freedom of choice regarding GMOs

01/31/2024 - The German Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) and Peter Hauk (CDU), his regional counterpart from Baden-Württemberg, made an explicit commitment to maintaining freedom of choice for genetically modified food at the "Grüne Woche" [Green Week] 2024 in Berlin. VLOG used the trade fair for talks with politicians.

Özdemir: Extremely strong market needs to be protected

"Anyone who wants to farm GMO-free must be able to do so reliably in the future," said Özdemir in his opening speech at the reception of the organic food sector at the Green Week. "This is about an extremely strong market that has the right to be protected," added the Minister, "addressing those who otherwise always sing the praises of the market economy and market forces".

Hauk: Freedom of choice must remain

Peter Hauk, Minister of Agriculture of Baden-Württemberg, where "GMO free" traditionally plays an important role, explained immediately afterwards: "For me, of course, it is also clear that freedom of choice must be maintained by all means. For me, as a convinced democrat, but above all as a convinced market economist, there is absolutely no denying that."

VLOG backround talks with many politicians

Alexander Hissting, Managing Director of the German Association for Food without Genetic Engineering (VLOG), was once again able to use the Green Week for a series of background talks with politicians and economic players.

Among others, he spoke with Silvia Bender, State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Miriam Staudte (Greens, Minister of Agriculture in Lower Saxony), Werner Schwarz (CDU, Minister of Agriculture in Schleswig-Holstein), Herrmann Färber MdB (CDU, Chairman of the Bundestag Agriculture Committee), Matthias Miersch MdB (SPD, Deputy Chairman of the parliamentary group), Karl Bär MdB (Greens), Oliver Vogt MdB (CDU), Carsten Träger MdB (SPD), Harald Ebner MdB (Greens) and Martin Häusling MdEP (Greens).

Topic: EU GMO regulation and business initiative for freedom of choice

The current EU process for the re-regulation of genetic engineering was a hot topic in all discussions. An important vote in the European Parliament's Environment Committee took place in the middle of the Green Week. The ongoing business initiative for the preservation of labeling and freedom of choice regarding genetically modified food, which was able to announce more than 200 supporting companies during the trade fair, also referred to this.

VLOG Managing Director Hissting was once again able to impress upon all politicians the importance of the preservation of mandatory labelling for new genetic engineering for the entire "Ohne Gentechnik" [Non-GMO] economic sector. Fortunately, almost all of them were already very aware of the new business initiative.

As last year, the meeting point for the talks was the information touchscreen on seals in the area of "sustainable nutrition", on which the VLOG and the "Ohne GenTechnik" seal were presented.

GMO-free agriculture also a key issue at the traditional demonstration

GMO free agriculture and food and the impending abolition of transparency and freedom of choice in the EU legislative process were also a central theme at the traditional "We're fed up" agricultural demonstration at the start of Green Week.

Over 200 businesses demand freedom of choice for GMO in food

Reception of the Organic sector at the Green Week (BÖLW, in German)

Review: "Wir haben es satt!" ["We're fed up!"] demonstration on 20 January 2024 in Berlin [German]