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The EU Commission has presented comprehensive changes for dealing with genetic engineering in plant breeding and agriculture. This also affects viticulture, for example in the breeding of resistant and resilient grape varieties.
The relaxed procedure should make it much easier to breed plants for food and animal feed - including grape varieties - using new technologies such as the Crispr/Cas gene scissors, explained Agriculture Commissioner Frans Timmermans at a press conference in Brussels. New genetic engineering methods could help to develop more climate and pest-resistant plants that require fewer pesticides and fertilisers. "Our proposal follows extensive and thorough consultation and is based on science," emphasised Timmermans.
According to the EU Commission's proposals, plants that have been modified using techniques such as Crispr should be treated in the same way as conventionally bred plants when it comes to risk assessment and authorisation. However, these rules should not apply across the board. The prerequisite for faster authorisation is that no foreign genes are inserted into new grape varieties, for example, and that a defined number of genetic modifications is not exceeded. Transgenic varieties whose changes are greater than could be achieved with conventional breeding should continue to be subject to strict regulations. In addition, new genetic engineering is to remain generally prohibited in organic viticulture.
In its proposal, the EU Commission refers to studies by the European Food Safety Authority, according to which plants bred or modified using "new genetic engineering" (NGT) do not pose any greater risks than conventionally bred plants. The risk of unintended consequences is "incomparably lower than with products of classical genetic engineering". Scientists have been calling for this step for a long time. However, environmental organisations and organic producers have criticised the changes.
(uka)