Poll comes as EU institutions are in the final negotiation rounds to determine if new GMO products will be exempt from labelling and traceability requirements

A new poll by YouGov indicates that 82% of Danes say the EU should stop its GMO deregulation efforts and maintain the current strict rules to protect food safety, the environment, and consumers’ right to choose.

Denmark's government holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union and is determined to conclude negotiations in favour of new GMO deregulation by the end of its term – December 2025.

Meanwhile, 84% of Danes aren’t aware that the Danish Government supports the EU Commission’s plan to weaken GMO regulations.

This poll comes as the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers are in the final negotiation rounds to determine if new GMO products will be exempt from labelling and traceability requirements and if patents will be allowed on new genomic techniques.

The poll was commissioned by Ekō, a member of a coalition of human rights and environmental NGOs campaigning to stop the deregulation of new GMOs within the European Union.

Ekō senior campaigner, Ildem Esin, says: “Our petition shows that over 73,000 people say NO to GMOs in the EU, and the recent polls from Denmark also prove that an overwhelming majority of the people do not want unlabelled and untraceable GMOs. As President of the Council of the European Union, Denmark must reckon with the reality that the European people and an overwhelming majority of Danes are against the Danish position to deregulate as well as the EU’s current tendency towards a more permissive path. The EU decision-makers must reconsider in their final negotiations if they are really ready to hand over our health and safety for corporate interests and allow Bayer and its friends to dictate what we sow, reap and eat. It’s not too late to change course and protect people and planet.”

NOAH Project and Research Campaigner, June Rebekka Bresson, says: “These results clearly show that Danish citizens have not received any information about the EU Commission’s legislative proposal and what it entails. Danes are therefore unaware that we are facing changes to GMO legislation in the EU that will fundamentally alter our food, and we will not be able to opt out or have the opportunity to buy other products, as the GMO label will disappear. It is deeply critical if the Danish government allows this to happen.

“At the environmental movement NOAH, we believe that Danes should at least be consulted before such a major change is implemented in relation to the food we put on our plates every day."

The proposal to weaken the rules on GMOs comes after many years of pressure from large Danish companies such as Landbrug & Fødevarer and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. June Rebekka Bresson said, "We are deeply concerned that our government appears to be putting the interests of companies above those of its citizens.”

Background

Denmark has played a leading role in shaping the EU’s proposal to deregulate new genomic techniques (also called new GMOs). Key Danish industry representatives claim to have been involved in drafting 95% of the EU's new legislative proposal to deregulate new genomic techniques.

The EU has traditionally maintained strict standards on GMO regulations, which includes risk assessments, labelling, and traceability requirements as well as patentability. The proposed changes would ease these requirements. Critics warn that the deregulation proposals could increase the market power of biotech companies like Bayer and BASF, which already dominate the seed market. Corporate control over seed production and distribution could increase, giving large companies greater influence over what is grown and sold.

Source: NOAH