Food trade takes a mixed stance on new genetic engineering in EU
So far, GMO-free agriculture in Germany and Europe has been a success story: fields have been largely free of GM crops for years, and the direct use of GM crops in food has fallen through with consumers – which is why such products are not found in supermarkets. At the same time, explicitly GMO-free labelled food is becoming more and more popular.
But this freedom to consciously decide against genetic engineering in food could soon be over. New genetic engineering methods of “genome editing” such as CRISPR enable deep interventions in the genetic material of plants and animals. They are supposed to be more targeted than was possible with “old” genetic engineering and usually work without the insertion of foreign DNA.
The first products are already being developed. This is heating up the discussion about the current genetic engineering law more and more.
The EU Commission plans to “deregulate” some of the processes by mid-2023. This would mean that they would no longer be classified as genetic engineering, as European law actually stipulates.
This would mean that in future neither risk assessment, authorisation, labelling nor detection procedures would be required for these processes. For the GMO-free agriculture and food industry, it would be almost impossible to guarantee that their fields and products are free of plants modified with CRISPR and co.
Comprehensive genetic engineering labelling would no longer be possible
This development would also have an impact on food retailing and the large supermarkets and discounters. After all, GMO-free milk and dairy products are now an integral part of the shelves, and meat is also increasingly produced “without genetic engineering” and labelled accordingly. However, if plants modified with new genetic engineering were to be allowed onto the market without regulation, comprehensive labelling including new genetic engineering would no longer be possible.
A number of European companies, including Aldi, Lidl Germany as well as Rewe and Penny, have spoken out in 2021 in a resolution in favour of also clearly regulating new genetic engineering as genetic engineering.
Other prominent names in German retail, such as Edeka, Kaufland and Metro, however, are missing from the list of signatories.
In October 2021, Greenpeace asked the companies to comment and to sign the “Retailer’s Resolution”. Lidl was also contacted. Although the company has signed for Germany and Austria, Lidl has so far failed to state its position for the entire international group.
Edeka, Kaufland and Metro duck away from position on genetic engineering
The answers make it clear that the companies that have been contacted so far lack a clear line. All four are currently not in a position to sign the resolution or to take a position on the EU Commission’s plan not to classify new genetic engineering methods as genetic engineering. Edeka and Kaufland refer to the statement of the umbrella organisation of the German food trade, in which the regulation of new genetic engineering in 2021 is at least described as “comprehensible under European law” and also mentions the precautionary principle, freedom of choice, labelling and detection procedures. However, a clear position on a possible deregulation is not taken.
Lidl does not dare to take a position internationally, although its representatives in Germany and Austria have agreed to the resolution. “This is too little and helps neither consumers nor farmers who want to make a conscious decision against genetic engineering when buying or cultivating,” says Dirk Zimmermann, genetic engineering expert at Greenpeace. “Whoever is serious about the commitment to transparency and freedom of choice must do more than observe the foreseeable action of the EU Commission and refer to the vague position paper of an umbrella organisation. Passivity will end up supporting the possible deregulation of new genetic engineering.”
Coalition agreement: genetic engineering barely mentioned
How much support can be expected from the new federal government is left open in the coalition agreement for the time being – the term “genetic engineering” is not even mentioned in the paper, the topic of regulation is not mentioned either. “However, the federal government states the goal of expanding organic farming to 30 per cent by 2030 and commits to risk and detection research and transparency on breeding methods,” says Zimmermann. “This must consequently mean lobbying at EU level to maintain the existing genetic engineering legislation. We expect the relevant ministries to take a correspondingly firm stand against the Commission’s plans.” Another public consultation process is due in 2022, and legislative proposals from the Commission are not expected until the end of the year at the earliest.
