New GMOs:half of Europe blocks deregulation (but not Italy)

The EU agriculture ministers did not reach the qualified majority to give the green light to new genomic biotechnologies, that is, the whole set of latest generation genetic modification techniques that the EU Commission would like to deregulate.At present these techniques are in fact treated on a par with traditional GMOs, but the objective of the EU executive is to change things and thus simplify the authorization procedures.For the moment, however, around half of the Member States have not agreed.Those who stood in the way were Austria, Croatia, Slovakia, Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, Greece, Poland, Romania and Slovenia.Italy, for its part, voted in favor, maintaining its usual position aligned with the interests of large companies.Agriculture Minister Lollobrigida - commented the GMO-Free Italy Coalition - "has therefore once again preferred to chase the sirens of the agro-industrial, seed and agrochemical lobbies, in contempt of the precautionary principle and the rights of farmers and consumers".

Not to mention that the minister then completely ignored the ever-increasing importance of the Italian organic sector, which risks being compromised precisely by this deregulation.The main doubts expressed by the opposing Member States are in fact related to not being able to guarantee a separation of organic supply chains from GMO ones, as well as the impossibility of limiting or banning the cultivation of GMOs at a national level.An unlimited green light could also lead to further concentration of the market in a handful of multinationals.For approval, a majority of 55% of member countries and 65% of European citizens was required.Majority for now not reached, but whether the deregulation process will actually be blocked is far from certain.For example, already on December 22, when a new vote will be held, things could go differently and new GMOs see the light.The proposal, if approved, would create two new categories of genetically modified crops, the first considered equivalent to conventional GMOs in regulatory terms and the second subject to lighter regulation than that currently in force for first generation GMO crops.

At present, all genetically modified organisms are subject to authorization and, if present in certain products, must always be reported on the label.However, as soon as new genomic techniques appeared, Brussels started working on a new regulatory framework which may no longer apply these rules for food products obtained with latest generation biotechnology.The principle according to which the aim is to change the rules is linked to the fact that new GMOs, unlike others, are produced using gene editing technology whereby crop traits are altered without the actual insertion of genes strangers.In 2018, however, it was the European Court of Justice that established that old and new GMOs had to be regulated pursuant to the same directive.The reason, in particular, went to several French associations that had sued the Ministry of Agriculture beyond the Alps which had independently exempted new biotechnological products from the current rules.In any case, the new transgenic techniques, or assisted evolution technologies, represent undoubted scientific achievements which, according to European legislators, could contribute to the sustainability of food production, increasing the resilience of crops to climate change and reducing the use of pesticides.However, the debate on their actual safety, especially in terms of social and biodiversity impact, is still alive on a scientific level.The spread of genetically modified crops, as they are intimately linked to impactful industrial agricultural practices, appears for example in stark contrast with the protection of traditional, extensive agriculture.The commercial imposition (and political support) of transgenic varieties therefore directly threatens local subsistence agricultural practices, as well as the biological diversity linked to them.

On the contrary, large companies would only have something to gain.The main companies in the sector - such as Bayer, BASF, Syngenta and Corteva - have already presented as many as 139 patent applications for new genomic editing techniques on plants, with the aim of acquiring exclusive ownership of genetically modified plant varieties for twenty years and resell them to farmers.In all of this, Italy has already chosen a side.And it did so despite now being the leader in organic agriculture in Europe.It therefore matters little if organic crops could be threatened by uncontrolled gene flow between modified crops and traditional crops.Already in June, the majority gave for example the go ahead at the field experimentation of organisms deriving from assisted evolution technologies.A novelty for Italy which, strictly adhering to the precautionary principle, has for over twenty years prohibited both the cultivation and testing of genetically modified organisms on its territory.

[by Simone Valeri]