300+ organisations call on the European Commission to maintain new GMOs tested and labelled
Frans Timmermans, the vice-president of the European Commission will be present today in the European Parliament to discuss the upcoming proposal on new genomic techniques. With a collective of 300+ organisations, the Biodynamic Federation Demeter International sent him a letter to urge the European Commission to maintain the current legal framework for all GMOs.
So far, all GMOs in the EU are subject to mandatory risk assessment, traceability, and labelling. This strict legal framework prevents new GMOs to arrive on the market untested and undetected. It is an essential prerequisite to ensure our freedom of choice and the protection of our health and the environment.
However, the European Commission plans to publish in June a new legal framework for what they call new genomic techniques. The aim is to lift all the mandatory requirements for new GMOs which would bring them on the market without prior safety checks, and without any clear traceability and labelling. The protection of our saftey and our environment would be greatly threatened, as well as our ability to make informed choices affecting farmers and consumers alike.
To minimize the potential negative impacts on nature, animal and human health, the precautionary principle must prevail along with consumers and farmers’ right to information. With the 300+ signatories, we call on the European Commission to maintain the current legal framework for all GMOs including labelling and traceability requirements.
Contact: Clara Behr, Head of Policy and Public Relations
clara.behr@demeter.net
Brussels, 22.05.2023
