The European Union’s executive commission has thrown its weight behind new food techniques in a bid to help tackle shortages and climate change.
The so-called new genomic techniques seek to change organisms in a much less intrusive way than the genetically modified organisms (GMOs) of old and allow many to be sold without special labelling.
“In many ways, new genomic techniques can give you the same results as through conventional and natural selection, or through targeted crossbreeding, but with much more speed, precision and efficiency,” European Commission vice president Frans Timmermans said.
For decades, the 27-nation bloc was conservative in allowing the use of GMOs, which often conjure up images of Frankenfood rather than improved crop production – with the United States and others quickly adopted the new bioengineered technologies.
But the new techniques are intended to make plants better able to withstand drought while requiring fewer pesticides and to create products with better colour and more consistency that are more attractive to consumers.
Unsurprisingly, large farming companies welcomed the EU’s plans and environmentalists mounted opposition.
Wednesday’s proposal is only the start of a drawn-out process since member nations and the European Parliament must endorse the plans before they can become reality.
The bloc’s current GMO legislation dates back to 2001 after the issue divided the EU for a generation.
It gave environmentalists the assurance that the EU would not become a free-for-all for multinational agro-corporations to produce GMOs in bulk and sell products to the bloc’s 450 million citizens without detailed labelling and warnings.
The EU’s main farm lobby, Copa-Cogeca, was jubilant on Wednesday.
“After more than a decade of postponements, the European Commission has finally presented a proposal,” it said in a statement.
Environmentalists are fully alarmed again, fearing the newest tools still pose too many dangers and must undergo much better testing.
“Whether it’s a toy or a face cream, any product on the market needs to be safety tested,” Eva Corral from Greenpeace said.
“Why would there be an exemption for GMOs that end up in our fields or on our plates?
“Biotech companies have long considered these safety procedures an unnecessary bother and it’s disappointing to see the commission agree with them.”
Mr Timmermans disagreed with that assessment and said his proposal puts caution front and centre.
When it is clear that plants based on new genomic techniques could occur naturally or by conventional breeding, they would be treated like conventional plants, he said.
Others would still face the much stricter GMO requirements before they could be introduced.
The European People’s Party, the biggest in the EU legislature, has welcomed the plans.
If done right, the proposal will ensure European competitiveness, lower emissions and more food globally, European Parliament member Jessica Polfjard said.
“Everybody should be able to support those objectives,” she added.
