28/09/2021

Public consultation for new legal proposal upcoming

On 29 April 2021, the European Commission published a study on the status of New Genomic Techniques under Union law and in light of the Court of Justice ruling in Case C-528/16’. IFOAM Organics Europe discussed the reports’ findings on previous occasions and expressed concerns that weakening the rules on using genetic engineering in agriculture and food is worrying news and could leave organic food systems unprotected.

While the impact on organic producers was mentioned in the report, no constructive solution was proposed on how to maintain traceability along the food chain. This includes the question of how and whether traceability of these organisms would be maintained for organic producers and enabling them not to use products from genetic engineering in their production process. Nevertheless, the Commission is moving forward with plans to create a new and specific legal framework for “novel genomic techniques.”

The next step is  a public consultation on the Inception Impact Assessment for “new genomic techniques’, which opened during the last week of September. This consultation is open for all citizens and organisations and aims to identify crucial issues to be considered before a new legal proposal is made. The outcomes of this consultation will feed into the upcoming Impact Assessment, which is why it is so crucial to raise the perspective of the organic movement, so that the process can start off on the right foot. IFOAM Organics Europe will also participate in this consultation, representing the European organic movement’s voice.

For more information on GMOs and IFOAM Organics Europe’s work on this issue, please contact [email protected].  Please do note that we prioritise our members’ requests.

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

 
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