EU considers lifting ban on gene edited plants

The European Commission (EC) has proposed updating European Union (EU) rules to exclude gene editing techniques from its rules on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Science Business wrote on 6 July.

Under the proposal, EU rules on GMOs would not apply to plants developed using techniques such as CRISPR, so long as modifications were comparable to those that could be achieved using conventional breeding.

“The EU risks being excluded ... from the technological developments and economic, social and environmental benefits these new technologies can potentially generate if its GMO framework is not adapted to new genomic techniques [NGTs],” the report said.

According to the report, the proposal separates NGT plants into two categories.

Category I covers plants that are comparable to those that are conventionally bred, but where gene editing (GE) would speed up the process and be more precise. This should accelerate the development of crop plants that were more resilient and pest resistant, produced higher yields and required less pesticides, the report said. The EC has proposed limiting the number of modifications in this category to 20.

Category II covered plants with more than 20 modifications obtained through the use of NGTs, which would continue to fall under GMO rules.

Scientists had been calling for change for years saying that evidence had shown that GE could safely make agriculture more efficient, Science Business wrote, but the proposal was likely to be opposed by environmental groups preferring the blanket GMO ban to be retained.