02/10/2024

New GMOs – Key resources

This article is an overview of useful resources we have compiled for you. We will update this on a rolling basis. If you have useful materials, please share them with [email protected].

We do the work for our members! They can find more information, instant messaging and visuals in our arguments database on the member extranet.

Organic movement resources

All our

Member only:

NGO resources

Scientific resources

Scientists’ and policy experts’ statement: Gene editing is not “precision breeding” and the term is misleading (September 2022)

NGO petition

Citizens have voiced their concerns about the safeguard for genetic resources free of genetic modification in a petition with more than 420,000 signatures from 17 countries. Citizens demanded policymakers to keep (new) GMOs strictly regulated and labelled, and instead of using GMOs, support proven sustainable agricultural practices, like organic and other agroecological farming methods.

Other stakeholders

During summer 2024, 376 businesses from the organic and conventional food industry united from 16 Member States, and signed the letter “Food Industry for Freedom of Choice” calling for rigorous labelling, detection methods, and co-existence measures of NGTs in Europe. Among the signatories are industry giants like REWE Group, SPAR Austria, dm-drogerie market and Biocoop. On 3 September 2024, representatives from the coalition met with István Nagy, the Hungarian Minister of Agriculture and [at that moment] EU Council President for Agriculture and Fisheries, to convey the industry’s concerns and personally hand over the letter.
Read more in our dedicated news item.

Events

On 30 November 2023, we hosted a press conference on NGTs, urging Members of the European Parliament and Member States to respect the decision of organic farmers not to use NGTs. The press conference featured interventions from key figures, including Jan Plagge, President of Bioland and IFOAM Organics Europe; Dr. Angelika Hilbeck, agroecologist at ETH Zürich; and Bernard Lignon, Project Lead on Regulations and Organic Product Quality at SYNABIO. Watch the key takeaways of the conference in our dedicated Youtube playlist.

On 17 November 2022, we held the GMO-free Europe event at the European Parliament, together with Save our Seeds. The event was hosted in the European Parliament by Green/EFA Members of Parliament and united representatives of GMO-free Regions, scientists, farmers, producers, retailers, and consumers as well as NGOs, civil servants, and politicians to scrutinize the proposal and take a stand together. The event was a full success with more than 250 participants joining online and in person. Watch the full recordings in our dedicated YouTube playlist.

For more information on (new) GMOs and IFOAM Organics Europe’s work on this issue, please visit our website and contact [email protected].

IFOAM Organics Europe members can find more information on the member extranet and background materials in the arguments database on the member extranet (main messages, arguments/FAQs, visuals & videos). Contact [email protected] for access rights (issues).

For information about what you can gain from being a member, read our membership page and contact [email protected].

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