JOIN THE CAMPAIGN

An EU Free from genetically
modified plants and animals

OUR VISION

We need agro-ecological and organic farming that is locally adapted, respects animal welfare and fosters biodiversity, and that allows farmers to produce healthy and nutritious food for all.

Genetic modification technology is a costly and potentially dangerous distraction from that.

That’s why we want to keep genetically modified crops and animals out of our fields and off our plates. We also want the feed given to animals all over the EU to be free from genetically modified (GM) crops.

WHAT WE’RE UP AGAINST

Since the 1990s, the use of genetic modification (GM) technology in agriculture has turned out to be an expensive experiment that has increased the use of agrichemicals and driven concentration in the seed industry. Today, the technology is only used by a handful of countries and for a few commodity crops, such as soya, maize and cotton. The EU does not grow GM crops but it still imports large amounts of them for animal feed.

Global seed producers like Bayer and Corteva are lobbying the European Commission to exclude GM crops engineered with new GM technology called ‘gene editing’ from EU GMO regulations, after the EU’s highest court ruled in 2018 that they must be covered by these rules.

Unfortunately, it looks like the industry lobbying is starting to work, so we need more than ever to join forces and campaign on this!

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WHAT WE’RE CALLING FOR


The EU should keep GM crops and animals out of our fields and stables. It should not import them from other countries either, turning a blind eye to unsustainable farming practices that it would not tolerate within its borders.

The EU could go a long way just by properly applying existing GMO regulations. Under these rules, GM products can only be authorised after a robust assessment of their potential impacts on the environment, animal and human health, and consideration of “other legitimate factors”. GM products must be traceable and labelled, to allow farmers, food producers and consumers to avoid them. Plus, national governments have the right to ban the cultivation of GM crops.

The European Court of Justice has confirmed that these rules also apply to products engineered with new GM techniques, such as CRISPR/Cas.

The Commission should:

  • Insist on a robust and complete risk assessment for all GM products;
  • Make sure that there are labels warning consumers about GM food and feed additives, also for meat, eggs and dairy produced from animals fed with GM feed.
  • Take into account the wider societal impacts, and especially the impacts outside the EU’s borders;
  • Only allow GM products on the EU market if a qualified majority of EU member states supports that decision.

OUR CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES

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European Parliament Building Strasbourg © European Union 2017 - Source : EP
European Parliament Building Strasbourg © European Union 2017 - Source : EP
News |

Debriefing of the February I plenary session

Greens/EFA priorities for the plenary week included EU 2040 Climate Targets, farmers' protests, GMOs, Russian interference, rule of law and media freedom in Greece, support to Ukraine, quality traineeships in the EU, Norway's seabed mining in the Arctic and the EU’s priorities for the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
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©adrian-infernus
Corn field
Event |

GMO-Free Europe Conference '23

We will examine and discuss its potential impact on environmental protection, agricultural practices, food markets, farmers and consumers rights. We invite politicians, scientists, farmers, NGOs, businesses and institutions to join this exchange of views.
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chuttersnap
GMO beakers
Study |

The possible deregulation of certain GMOS in the EU: what would the implications be?

The European Commission wants to deregulate certain genetically modified plants developed with new genetic engineering techniques, in order to facilitate their commercialisation in the EU. Our study warns that the deregulation of certain GM crops and foods could have wide and long-term implications for the broader sustainable and equitabl…
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Corn field / CC0 glenn-carstens-peters
Corn field / CC0 glenn-carstens-peters
Event |

GMO-free Europe Event 2022

Join the 2022 edition of the GMO-free Europe Event, hosted in the European Parliament by the Greens/EFA Group. We will look at the issue of the new Genetically Modified Organisms and the new legislation on new genomic techniques, planned for next year, from a scientific, economic, and political perspective.
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© Illustrations credits: Lola Mercé
Illustration  magnifying glass and gmo material
Study |

Behind the smokescreen

In 2018 the European Court of Justice ruled that new gene-edited organisms are covered by the EU’s GMO laws. The ruling galvanised a concerted lobbying response by promoters of new GM technology to get these new GMOs exempted from the EU’s GMO laws. What are these groups? Why would they promote a weakening of the EU’s GMO legislation?…
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European Union
Hemicycle European Parliament Strasbourg
News |

Plenary Flash - 6-9 June 2022

On the agenda for the plenary session: the Fit for 55 package, Question Time with the Commission on reducing the use of pesticides and strengthening consumer protection, Council and Commission statements on the rule of law and the potential approval of the Polish national Recovery Plan (RRF), Council and Commission statements on global th…
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Opinion |

EU GMO rules are under attack

Benoît Biteau Eleonora Evi Claude Gruffat Martin Häusling Tilly Metz Michèle Rivasi Thomas Waitz Sarah Wiener
Opinion by Benoît Biteau & Eleonora Evi & Claude Gruffat & Martin Häusling & Tilly Metz & Michèle Rivasi & Thomas Waitz & Sarah Wiener
The European Commission is trying to weaken the EU’s regulations on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It plans to exclude some GMOs from the regulations. Like this, agricultural corporations could market them without GMO authorisation, traceability or labelling.
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Event |

Genetic engineering for sustainable food systems?

The Commission plans to exclude certain GM plants from the EU requirements for GMO authorisation, traceability and labelling. We have discussed this plan with a scientist, a farmer, a plant breeder and a non-GMO certifier, as well as a representative from the European Commission itself.
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Press release |

Strict rules must continue to apply to new forms of genetic engineering

Today, the European Commission has presented its study on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), pointing out that new genomic techniques could reduce the use of pesticides, in line with the objectives of the Green Deal and the Farm-to-Fork Strategy. The main conclusion of the study is that existing GMO legislation is outdated and unfit f…
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chuttersnap
beakers GMOs
News |

Opinion poll on the labelling of GM crops

An Ipsos opinion poll shows that the vast majority (86%) of Europeans who have heard of genetically modified (GM) crops want food produced from these plants to be labelled as such. It also shows that the majority (68%) of respondents who have heard of new GM techniques want food produced with these techniques also labelled as GM.