Deregulation "will have major consequences for all citizens" – Greenpeace France

In a letter sent on 28 November 2023 to the French President and Prime Minister, thirteen agricultural and environmental organisations (Agir pour l'Environnement, Les Amis de la Terre, Confédération Paysanne, FNAB, Foll'Avoine, France Nature Environnement, Générations Futures, GIET, Greenpeace, Objectif Zéro OGM, OGM dangers, POLLINIS, Synabio) have called on the French President and the French Prime Minister to address the risks associated with the European regulation on new GMOs.

In a press release, Greenpeace France said:

"Negotiations on this draft regulation are accelerating for no other reason than to impose new GMOs on the European market, taking organisations and citizens by storm. Presented by the European Commission on 5 July 2023, it will be on the agenda of the next meeting of European agriculture ministers on 10 and 11 December, and should be voted on by the European Parliament in less than two months' time. This text contains elements that will structure the future of the European agricultural and food system. It will have major consequences for all citizens, and must absolutely be the subject of public debate.

"This draft regulation has been rejected by the majority of consumers, by farmers and by the organic sector.

"The signatory organisations ask to be received by Emmanuel Macron and Élisabeth Borne to alert them to:
* The total disregard for the precautionary principle, with the draft regulation allowing over 90% of plants obtained by new genomic techniques (new GM techniques, NGTs) to access the French and European markets without any risk assessment, traceability or labelling procedures;
* The removal of the safeguard clause that would prevent a member state from banning a GMO/NGT plant, leading to a loss of national sovereignty;
* The endangerment of GMO-free agriculture, including organic farming, and of all agricultural alternatives based on principles that respect biodiversity, due to the inevitable phenomenon of contamination;
* Disregard for citizens' right to information on technologies that affect their future and that of their children, for the freedom of choice of consumers who do not want GMOs in their food, and for the freedom of choice of farmers who wish to produce without GMOs;
* The privatisation of living organisms by a small number of multinationals, and the threats that this privatisation poses to small and medium-sized businesses, especially seed companies, to farmers by prohibiting them from using harvested seeds, and to our food sovereignty.

"Nearly 500,000 citizens have also signed a petition against the authorisation of new GMOs in Europe, calling on their French and European representatives to defend the common interest and take a firm stance against this attempt at deregulation."

According to the letter, "The deregulation of new GMOs in Europe risks making the French agricultural model less autonomous, by weakening our agriculture, seed companies and the entire organic sector, from producers to distributors. This is a major issue for the future of our agricultural system and our food supply. It is imperative to prioritise the quality of discussion and analysis over the speed of decision-making."

Greenpeace France commented: "At a time when the climate and biodiversity crises are intensifying, and nothing is being done to act on the causes, false technological solutions are proliferating. This draft regulation poses an additional risk to the agricultural and food system, as well as to living ecosystems. Yet the solutions to these challenges are known, documented and already proven: Organic farming and agroecology, among other methods, are the pillars of this approach."

Milestones in the draft European regulation:

July 5, 2023: the European Commission published its draft regulation on plants derived from NTGs.
September 1: Spain, which has held the presidency of the Council of the European Union since July 1, reaffirmed that this issue is one of its priorities.
October 16: the rapporteur of the European Parliament's Environment Committee produced her report in support of the European Commission's draft.
December 10-11, 2023: the draft regulation will be on the agenda of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting.
December 11, 2023: vote by the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee, for opinion
January 11, 2023: vote by the European Parliament's Environment Committee, responsible for substantive issues.
Week of January 15 (provisional date): vote in plenary session of the European Parliament.

The letter (in French)

Greenpeace France's press release with sources