GMOs
Is the EU Opening the Door to More Hidden GMOs?
It has been one year since July 25, 2018, when the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that organisms obtained from New Plant Breeding Techniques (NPBTs), such as CRISPR, must fall under the already existing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) directive and must thus be subject to thorough risk assessment procedures and labelling. Industry representatives and several Member States of the European Union are currently putting EU decision-makers under pressure to exclude NPBTs from the existing EU regulation. Slow Food Europe is certain this would undermine the precautionary principle and sign the end of consumer choice to eat GM-free food.
New Plant Breeding Techniques: Commissioner Andriukaitis is missing the point
Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis, in an article recently published on Euractiv, argued that “the ‘new plant breeding techniques’ (NPBTs) needed new legislation.” This statement by Commissioner Andriukaitis, who is now running in the presidential election in Lithuania, and who finishes his term in the Commission in the coming months, comes as a surprise considering his previous claims that “the future of NPBTs at the EU level lies in the European Court of Justice’s interpretation of existing law.”
Bayer-Monsanto merger: A battle to be won with forks
If controlling access to food means controlling the destiny of humanity, from today the most powerful player worldwide is not a government or a coalition of States, but a single multinational corporation, Bayer, after acquiring the infamous Monsanto. In fact, until yesterday, Bayer was a German pharmaceutical chemical giant. As of today, it is also the world’s largest group in the field of seeds, chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides.
Are GMOs harmful? Yes, to our food sovereignty!
Today like yesterday, the GMO question brings up food sovereignty in its broadest sense, namely the freedom to choose what we cultivate. Bu this is a matter for democracy in which it can never be right to expect from science the answers it behooves politics to give us.
GMO: The European Parliament asks to ban imports of corn and cotton
Yesterday, in a non-binding resolution (adopted with 435 votes for, 216 against and 34 abstentions), the European Parliament objected to EU Commission plans to authorize imports of products made from genetically modified maize and cotton which are herbicide-resistant.
The Monsanto Tribunal reaches a verdict: human rights breached
Yesterday in The Hague the verdict of the International Monsanto Tribunal was finally delivered: the company’s activity has infringed on fundamental human rights.
Don’t authorize GMOs: Letter to President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker
Slow Food asks in an open letter to President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, not to authorize the cultivation of GMOs, respecting the will of EU member states,
GMOs: the European Parliament votes against new authorizations
GMOs: the European Parliament votes against new authorizations.
GMOs for food and feed: The European Parliament votes
Wednesday April 5th the European Parliament will vote on an objection to the use of 21 GMOs for food and feed in the EU.
The majority of EU countries vote against GMOs: Commission must stop GM crops now
Today the majority of European governments voted against the authorisation of three GMOs: two new genetically modified (GM) maize varieties for cultivation in the European Union – Pioneer’s 1507 and Syngenta’s Bt11 – and MON 810 [1].