Farmers’, organic farming and civil society organisations criticise the political agreement reached in trilogue on deregulating genetically modified organisms obtained with new genomic techniques. They now call on the European Parliament in plenary to reject the proposal and on governments to refuse it.

Farmers’, organic farming, environmental, consumer and civil society organisations in Italy that are fighting against the deregulation of new GMOs unequivocally condemn the agreement reached on the evening of 3 December by the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on the regulation concerning the so‑called New Genomic Techniques.

The agreement provides for acceptance of the arbitrary division of GMOs into two categories: NGT1 and NGT2. NGT1, which includes laboratory‑developed products deemed equivalent to those occurring in nature, would remove requirements for labelling, traceability and risk assessment. At present, 94% of new GMOs under development fall into this category. The NGT2 category would include only GMOs obtained by modifying genomic regions larger than an arbitrary threshold of 20 nucleotides, or those with traits such as herbicide resistance or the production of insecticidal toxins. For this narrow group of new GMOs, a regime similar to the current legislation is envisaged, including the possibility for Member States to opt out, that is, to apply a moratorium on cultivation.

Liberalising NGT1 plants, on the false premise that they are equivalent to natural products, would in practice pave the way for their spread without traceability or liability. Contamination in the field would therefore be uncontrollable and would expose organic or GMO‑free farming to the loss of certification or market status, as well as potentially eroding the country’s rich agricultural biodiversity. The migration of patented genes, contaminating the fields of farmers who have not purchased the seed, would expose them to claims for damages from the multinationals that own the patents. For those who breed conventional or organic seed, the risk of unintentionally using patented material would make it difficult to continue their work. This would lead some actors to withdraw from certain crops or genetic pools where many patents are concentrated, for fear of legal action by the agrochemical giants that control them.

In all this, consumers would be kept in the dark, with no label – currently required for GMO products – to inform their purchasing decisions or allow them to protect their health and the environment. The muted stance of supermarket chains and the support of major industry associations give the public little help in understanding what is at stake. The fact that most Italian political parties show so little awareness or reaction on the issue is just as alarming.

Following this agreement, the next steps are its adoption by the Council of the EU, where the Agriculture Ministers of the 27 member states sit, and a ratification vote in the European Parliament. Majorities in these fora are still undecided. The signatory organisations therefore call on politicians to mobilise and sink this deeply flawed deal when the decisive votes are taken, for the sake of people, farming and the planet. NGTs are GMOs and must be regulated as such.

Centro Internazionale Crocevia, Associazione Rurale Italiana, Federbio, Associazione Italiana per l’Agricoltura Biodinamica, FIRAB, Fairwatch, Federazione Nazionale Pro Natura, LIPU, Movimento Consumatori, Navdanya International, Terra!, Slow Food Italia, Legambiente, Greenpeace, Verdi Ambiente e Società.