The European Commission has proposed legislation to allow new genomic techniques (NGT) to be used in the EU to alter the genetics of plants.
The commission draws a distinction between NGTs and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), although the concepts are similar.
The commission describes NGTs as “innovative tools” that can help increase the sustainability and resilience of the food system and support the goals of the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy.
Some of the changes to products derived from NGTs can also occur in nature or through conventional breeding, the commission said. In other cases, multiple and more extensive modifications can be achieved.
According to the commission, NGTs will lead to more targeted, precise, and faster techniques then conventional breeding or established genomic techniques.
These techniques would allow for the identification and selection of the most advantageous characteristics from a plant’s own DNA or from a related plant.
Breeders can use NGTs to develop new characteristics or improve existing plants with greater precision and speed than conventional breeding techniques, the commission said.
New genomic techniques
NGTs are a variety of techniques that alter the genetic material of an organism, which did not exist in 2001 when EU legislation on GMOs was adopted.
Currently, plants obtained through NGTs are subject to the same rules as GMOs. The new proposed legislation would recognise the difference between the two.
Under the new rules, if they are adopted, NGT modifications that could also occur naturally or by conventional breeding will be treated like conventional plants and will be exempt from the GMO legislation, subject to a verification procedure.
For all other NGT plants, the requirements of the current GMO legislation would apply, meaning they would be subject to risk assessment, and can only be put on the market after an authorisation procedure.
NGT plants that will be treated as conventional under the proposal only include those altered through the techniques of mutagenesis (whereby the plant genome is altered without inserting foreign genetic material), and cisgenesis (whereby genetic material is inserted into a recipient plant from a donor plant that is sexually compatible with the recipient).
The commission says that farmers would benefit from increased availability of plants tailored to satisfy the needs of the sector, such as climate resilience, pest resistance, improved yield, and reduced need for fertilisers and pesticides.
The move to free-up the use of NGTs has been welcomed by Copa Cogeca, the umbrella group of EU farm organisations and agricultural co-operatives.
Copa said the move is a “good starting point”.
The group said that the techniques “must be accessible in all sectors and all regions helping European farmers, who face many challenges including the acceleration of climate change”.