The European Commission (EC) is considering allowing the sale of certain genetically modified foods without labeling. However, parts of the German government are against the relaxation of strict genetic engineering rules. According to an unpublished draft regulation obtained by the German Press Agency (DPA), the EC plans to exempt genetically modified plants from certain conditions of strict genetic engineering rules. The relaxation of these rules is intended to encourage the cultivation of genetically modified plants, which could result in various benefits, such as better vitamin D supply through genetically modified tomatoes or better protection against drought through longer roots. China has also recently legalized genetic modifications to crops to become more independent from imports.
The proposed regulation implies that techniques such as Crispr/Cas gene manipulation would not be subject to EU genetic engineering regulations, as long as the resulting varieties could have been generated through hybridization or selection. These cultivations would be classified into category 1 of plants generated by new techniques (NGT). However, strict genetic engineering rules will remain in force for organic farming. The draft is not yet final and must be officially presented and discussed by EU member states and the European Parliament. In Germany, the proposed relaxation of strict genetic engineering rules seems to be facing resistance. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), led by Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP), supports the relaxation, while the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety, and Consumer Protection (BMUV), led by the Greens, is against it.
Cem Özdemir (Greens) demands that genetically modified plants should only be labeled and traceable in the market. Matthias Miersch (SPD) is also against the EC’s plans to relax genetic engineering rules because it would limit consumer choice. The draft regulation is still subject to discussion and debate, and it remains to be seen whether it will be implemented.
