Today, EU Member States’ deputy ambassadors voted to widely deregulate the new generation of genetically modified organisms (new GMOs, so-called "new genomic techniques"), which means exempting them from any labelling, safety checks, monitoring and liability requirements. Friends of the Earth Europe condemned this decision as it prioritises false corporate promises over public demand for strict regulation. This shift undermines the EU’s fundamental precautionary principle underlying European policymaking and the EU’s approach to consumers’ right to choose. Mute Schimpf, food campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe commented: “It’s a dark day for consumers, farmers and the environment. EU governments have voted on the side of a handful of big corporations’ profits, instead of protecting farmers and consumers’ right to transparency and safety. They have slashed regulatory oversight to zero and eliminated liability for untested new GMOs, gambling on empty promises for plants that don’t even exist yet.” Friends of the Earth Europe via GMWatch

 

 

ENGA, the association of the European non-GMO food and feed sector, said the move was a "shocking abandonment of consumers’ right to information".

 

The German Association Food without Genetic Engineering (VLOG) said, "This is unlikely to be the hoped-for breakthrough, as there are still no regulations on labelling requirements and coexistence. The food industry and consumers will not accept this."

 

Franziska Achterberg of Save Our Seeds said: “The ministers have clearly caved to pressure from large multinational biotech companies. By allowing untested and unlabelled GM plants to be released into the environment and onto our plates, they are putting both people and nature at risk. Furthermore, they are stripping consumers of their right to avoid GM food.”

 

Corporate Europe Observatory said: "All is not over yet. Belgium made a statement that they only agreed to give the green light to start negotiations if some conditions are met, which probably cover the problems of patents and consumer labelling. The European Parliament position also opposes the patenting of (deregulated) new GM crops."

 

Greenpeace EU's Eva Corral said: “The governments who backed this loophole for new GMOs are telling their citizens and farmers that they don’t care if unregulated genetically modified plants end up in their plates and fields against their will. This would open a pandora’s box of risks for citizens, farms, small plant breeders and nature. The European Parliament must now step up to protect people and nature.”

 

The scientific group Testbiotech said, "It is doubtful whether the proposal will pass in this form, as there is still a lot of criticism from member states." Testbiotech said the current proposal "would lead to a gross negligence in the handling of NGT plants. The text is not sufficiently based on scientific criteria; it disregards the precautionary principle and freedom of choice; and would exacerbate the problem of seed monopolisation."

 

IFOAM Organics Europe said the proposal "threatens European breeders, farmers, and the food industry. The text neither protects European breeders and farmers from patent claims, nor does it give the agriculture and food industry all the necessary means to safeguard their entrepreneurial freedom."

 

The Biodynamic Federation said the EU vote puts "in jeopardy the sovereignty and freedom of choice of European farmers and breeders by endorsing the Council's negotiating mandate on the new genomic techniques (NGTs) regulation leaving aside essential traceability and labelling requirements... Clear traceability and labelling provisions for all NGTs are paramount to ensure that breeders, farmers, producers and consumers alike can make informed choices."

 

 

According to a list from Punchbowl News of USAID terminated awards, the following GM crop projects in Africa are no longer receiving USAID funds:
- Blight-resistant potato (Ethiopia, Nigeria)
- Striga-resistant sorghum (Kenya, Ethiopia)
- VIRCA Plus - disease resistant cassava (Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria)
- TELA Maize - drought resistant maize (Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria)
- PBR cowpea - pest-resistant cowpea (Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso).
USAID also canceled the insect-resistant eggplant (brinjal) project in Bangladesh.
Researcher Brian Dowd-Uribe commented on X: "USAID has traditionally been one of the largest funders of GM crop projects in Africa, contributing over $100 million USD in funding from 2001-2022. It is the largest or sole funder for many of the above projects (e.g. PBR cowpea). It remains to be confirmed whether such funding has been cancelled, and what this may mean for these projects moving forward. It also remains unclear whether the largest funder of ag biotech projects in Africa, the Gates Foundation, will continue funding these formerly jointly-funded projects, and/or increase levels to maintain project functionality." @Brian Dowd-Uribe on X

 

 

Bayer is lobbying to change US laws so it has legal immunity from glyphosate lawsuits. Now it's had its first success in the state of Georgia, where both the House and Senate have approved giving immunity, following a push by Bayer. Bayer is also lobbying Trump. An article in the German press says, "With the new law, lawsuits over alleged health risks from glyphosate in Georgia have virtually no basis, say US industry circles. Bayer is lobbying for such changes in several US states. The calculation is the more states implement this, the more hopeless lawsuits will become." @GMWatch on X, commenting on article in Handelsblatt

 

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