GMOs Archives

There's a lot of misinformation and misplaced facts which have distorted the debate about the recently concluded Mercosur trade deal, EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan has said.

While France is challenging the meat quotas provided for in the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, it plans to ratify the EU-Canada free trade agreement (CETA), which has been criticised by French beef producers. EURACTIV France reports.

The rise of Green parties in the last EU elections has raised eyebrows in Brussels, where agriculture stakeholders try to find out what is next in the debate about the future of EU farming.

If we’re going to feed the planet sustainably by the middle of the century, the food has to come in much larger volumes from Asia and Africa, told EURACTIV.com in an interview Simon Winter, head of Syngenta Foundation.

A number of breeding companies have promised to relocate their advanced mutagenesis breeding programmes outside Europe and others will follow if nothing is done to change EU rules, Garlich von Essen, the secretary-general of the European Seed Association (ESA), told …

The Netherlands and Estonia are leading a coalition of 14 EU member states calling on the next European Commission to update EU GMO laws with regard to so-called new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs).

The EU executive has already prepared the ground for a new initiative on gene editing to overhaul the current GMO legislation, EU agriculture commissioner Phil Hogan has said.

The Dutch government has launched a new vision for the country’s agriculture, which prioritises the protection of natural resources and the reduction of the sector's environmental impact.

Europe is a “technology-free zone” when it comes to agriculture and it will pay the price for that, US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has said, criticising the EU for ignoring science on new technologies in farming.

The world is in constant need of more food and new genetic engineering methods such as the CRISPR gene editing method offer a solution. However, these remain contested, EURACTIV Germany reports.

An EU Court decision that confirmed that new plant breeding techniques fall under Genetically Modified legislation has generated more reaction and more discussion than “we would have ever anticipated”.

The European governments have to decide whether science or politics are applied when it comes to issues such as new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs), EU's Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan said.

French authorities on Tuesday (15 January) banned the sale of a form of controversial weed-killer Roundup following a court ruling that regulators failed to take safety concerns into account when clearing the widely used herbicide.

EU politicians should show trust in the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and put their personal opinions on food safety assessments on hold, centre-right MEP Peter Jahr told EURACTIV Germany in an interview.

New methods of genetic engineering promise precise interventions, without side effects. However, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) wants tight regulation. The judgement is being fiercely debated. EURACTIV Germany reports.

It is the duty of scientists to point out what could be accomplished by using new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs), according to European Commission official Barend Verachtert, who praised the virtue of new technologies in agriculture at an event organised by EURACTIV on 5 November.

Job-seekers are getting into organic vegetable farming in Courcelles-Chaussy in eastern France, as dreams of a healthier lifestyle and demand for organic products convinces people to go back to the fields. EURACTIV France reports.

Policy makers, industry and civil society are trying to find a way to reconcile scientific evidence with public opinion’s beliefs when it comes to food safety. However, this has proved time and again to be a difficult challenge.

An extensive regulatory process on gene editing adds more bureaucracy, increasing costs and slowing down innovation, Liam Condon, President of Bayer’s crop science division told EURACTIV.com.

The lack of access to modern technologies combined with the fragile political landscape has put agriculture production in the EU under enormous pressure, at a time when other major farm markets in the world are growing, a new report has found.

US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has called a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice on new plant-breeding techniques (NPBTs) a ‘setback’ and said Washington is ready to help EU politicians make decisions based on scientific evidence.

The European Court of Justice ruled on 25 July that organisms obtained by mutagenesis plant breeding technique are GMOs and should, in principle, fall under the GMO Directive, in a surprising move that went contrary to the Advocate-General's non-binding opinion.

The European Court of Justice will decide on Wednesday (25 July) if the so-called new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs) fall under the GM legislation, in a highly anticipated ruling that has divided the relevant stakeholders

Bayer is nearing the completion of its mega-merger with Monsanto after the American Justice Department gave its green light but stakeholders in Germany and the United States, as well as shareholders, have expressed concerns about the risks linked to the transaction.