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More than 70,000 comments on EU’s GMO deregulation plans
Photo © European Union 2015
Even a partial deregulation, as proposed by the EU Commission, would acutely endanger this successful economic sector, from agriculture to manufacturers and processors to trade, with its billions of euros in sales.
An "Ohne Gentechnik" seal not banning genetic engineering would be worthless
An "Ohne Gentechnik" seal that does not rule out ingredients that were defined as genetic engineering by the ruling of the European Court of Justice as recently as 2018 would be worthless from the perspective of manufacturers and retailers. If plants and products from targeted mutagenesis and cisgenesis, which are indisputably to be considered genetically modified organisms (GMOs), were to enter the European agricultural and food system without labeling, would render reliable and credible "Ohne Gentechnik" labeling difficult to impossible.
EU must not give up strong competitive advantage
In doing so, the EU would jeopardize a strong international competitive advantage of its globally recognised quality food industry. The fact that lower standards apply in other parts of the world must not, in the view of the Association of Food without Genetic Engineering (VLOG), be a reason to lower the high EU standards and thus give up this advantage.
Next consultation round to be held in 2022
All comments submitted during the feedback period from the end of September to the end of October 2021 can be read online. The EU Commission will only address the contents in a report at a later date. This will be before the next consultation round takes place in the second quarter of 2022, which is to be aimed specifically at stakeholders.
The unusually large volume of feedback in such a procedure may result from the fact that many NGOs called for participation and facilitated it by creating an online tool. Therefore, a large part of the comments are likely to be critical of the deregulation plans.