- This briefing is part of a series dissecting who will benefit from the draft EU law to deregulate new GMOs, and who will suffer from it.
Under current European law, new genetically modified organisms (GMOs) must undergo a risk assessment before entering the market as food, feed or seeds. This is to protect citizens, wildlife and farm animals from the potentially harmful impacts of untested GMOs. However, big agribusiness lobby to eliminate these safeguards for the new generation of GMOs and pushes for them to be sold and grown without any safety checks in the EU.
Big Agri on one hand claim patents on the innovation in the development on new GMOs. On the other hand, they claim that new GMOs are as safe as any conventionally developed plant, a claim translated by EU decisions-maker into new legislation that deregulates these new GMOs. Based on this alleged safety, the law has also abolished any requirements for monitoring. Under the deregulation law, once a new GM product or seed is approved for the market, the approval is permanent – this approach contradicts other existing EU laws, such as those for GMOs and pesticides. Even if harm is later identified and detected, corporations retain the right to market the food, feed and seeds forever.
Read our new briefing to learn more about who stands to win and who stands to lose from a deregulation of new GMOs and their exclusion from safety checks.
