GMOs Archives

Seemingly insurmountable differences in food standards are threatening to sink trade negotiations between the United States and the European Union.  EURACTIV Spain reports.

Ahead of the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture's second forum, numerous associations have criticised the group, citing the prevalence of greenwashing and lack of actual positive impact on climate change. EURACTIV Germany reports.

French President François Hollande threatened on Sunday (1 May) to reject the ambitious TTIP trade pact if it endangers the future of French agriculture, triggering similar warnings from the US regarding exports of farm produce to Europe

US and European Union trade officials said yesterday (28 April) they would not settle for a limited trans-Atlantic free trade deal that ignores deep divisions on agricultural products, services, public procurement and dispute resolution.

European lawmakers have urged the EU not to support the introduction of GMOs in Africa, in a resolution criticising the G8's New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. EURACTIV France reports.

Humankind needs to take a more collaborative approach to agriculture in order to sustain its future nutrition needs, while at the same time minimising environmental harm to the planet, global leaders and luminaries have warned.

EXCLUSIVE / After Europe's decision to keep its door shut to GMOs, the European Commission is trying its best to avoid opening a new trade row with the United States over how to regulate so-called 'new plant breeding techniques' (NPBTs).

The French High Council for Biotechnology (HCB) is shedding members. Seven associations have left the organisation, claiming their opinions on new plant breeding techniques, or "new GMOs", were ignored. EURACTIV's partner Journal de l'Environnement reports.

The European Commission further delayed a much-awaited legal analysis of whether new plant breeding techniques should be considered as GMOs, EURACTIV has learned.

MEPs have voted not to strip organic agricultural products of their certification if they are contaminated with GMOs or pesticides, as the majority of cases of contamination are accidental. EURACTIV's partner Journal de l'Environnement reports. 

Organic farmers have raised the alarm over the potential “severe” economic and environmental consequences of new plant breeding techniques for Europe’s farming sector, calling for GMO legislation to apply when approving new seed traits.

After decades of generous subsidies from Brussels, some British farmers are starting to think the unthinkable - that they might be better off outside the European Union.

EXCLUSIVE / A legal analysis of whether new plant breeding techniques should fall under EU GMO legislation will be completed by the first quarter of 2016, a European Commission spokesperson has told EURACTIV.

Britain should challenge "woefully inadequate" European regulations and launch field trials of genetically modified insects designed to wipe out disease-carrying bugs that harm crops and people, lawmakers said on Thursday (16 December).

The EU's food safety agency on Thursday (12 November) said that one of the world's most popular weedkillers was "unlikely" to cause cancer, putting it at odds with findings by the UN.

Four large seed companies will no longer grow genetically modified maize in Germany. "We have achieved our goal," said Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt on Tuesday (3 November). EURACTIV Germany reports.

Legislators on Wednesday (28 October) rejected by a huge majority a hard-won compromise that would have allowed member states to decide for themselves whether or not to import Genetically Modified Organisms for use in food and animal feed.

SPECIAL REPORT / 'New plant breeding techniques' focus on developing new seed traits within a given species through genetic engineering. A troubling question for policymakers is whether these techniques should fall under GMO legislation.

SPECIAL REPORT / Organic farming has a role to play in the new Common Agricultural Policy, but it cannot address the perplexing issue of food security, an EU spokesperson said.

EU lawmakers rejected yesterday (13 October) a hard-won compromise which allows member states to decide for themselves whether or not to import Genetically Modified Organisms for use in food and animal feed.

Fifteen of the 28 EU member states are seeking to keep genetically-modified organisms out of all or part of their territory, as the deadline for opting out of new European legislation on GMO crops nears, the bloc's executive arm said yesterday (1 October).

Germany has told the European Union it will ban cultivation of crops with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), under new European Union rules allowing member states to opt out of GMO cultivation, a document seen by Reuters showed yesterday (30 September).

SPECIAL REPORT / For some experts, genetically modified organisms are the answer to Africa's harsh climate and low agricultural productivity. But for critics, dependence on powerful seed companies outweighs the benefits. EURACTIV France reports. 

The European Parliament's Agriculture Committee has added to the confusion surrounding GM crops in Europe by recommending rejection of a proposal that would allow member states to limit or ban imports of genetically modified food and feed. EURACTIV Italy reports.