German agri ministry opposes gene editing deregulation

Germany’s agriculture ministry has come out against deregulating new genomic techniques and could tip the scale on the matter within the Berlin government, in a departure from its previous non-committal stance.
The European Commission is expected to table proposals for loosening EU rules on gene editing, more specifically, new genomic techniques (NGTs), in June this year.
NGTs, also known as plant breeding techniques, are a number of scientific methods used to alter genomes with the aim of genetically engineering certain traits into plants, such as drought tolerance.
With the Commission gearing up to push for the liberalisation of the gene editing legislation, Germany could be a key player in determining how such a proposal will go down with member states.
The country’s green-led agriculture ministry has now put its cards on the table and came out against deregulating NGTs after minister Cem Özdemir had so far refused to take a stance on the matter.

German Green ministers not aligned on EU gene editing deregulation
With the Greens leading both the German agriculture and environment ministries, many expect the country to stand against the Commission’s expected push to deregulate new genomic techniques (NGTs). But agriculture minister Cem Özdemir has so far refused to take sides.
Deregulation ‘short-sighted’
Seeing as there is currently no way of identifying which plants have been produced using NGTs without access to the relevant sequence information, “there have been calls for NGT organisms to be deregulated,” the ministry’s top official Silvia Bender told a scientific conference last week.
“I believe that this conclusion is too short-sighted, and it does not comply with my understanding of transparency,” she said, while also pointing to the fact that the EU “is still trying to find an appropriate stance on the matter”.
Bender stressed the importance of safeguarding producers’, retailers’, and consumers’ freedom of choice, that is, ensuring they know whether they are buying or trading a product produced using NGTs or not.
For the official, transparency around genetically modified products is also a condition for the techniques’ coexistence with the organic and GMO-free sector, which has to be able to trace the origin of its products and inputs.
“These are aspects of huge importance to us as the federal ministry for food and agriculture,” she said, while acknowledging that “others are pursuing a different approach.”

EU citizens rally against gene editing deregulation ahead of EU proposal
A coalition of organisations, bolstered by green and socialist MEPs, have presented a petition to the European Commission urging it not to loosen rules on gene editing techniques ahead of the EU executive’s upcoming proposal on the matter.
Environment ministers against liberalisation
How the agriculture ministry positions itself could be decisive in determining Berlin’s stance on the matter since the relevant ministries are split.
While liberal research and science minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger wants to harness the potential of new genomic techniques and clear barriers that stand in the way of this, green environment minister Steffi Lemke is a staunch opponent of gene editing.
Lemke was also among a number of ministers who spoke out against loosening NGT rules during the EU environment ministers’ meeting on 16 March.
The issue had been put on the agenda by Austrian Green minister Leonore Gewessler, who called into question the scientific basis for the Commission’s upcoming proposal in a note that was also supported by Hungary and Cyprus.
In the view of the three countries, the Commission has not sufficiently established which risks would come with liberalising NGTs. “In particular with regard to the environmental risk assessment, many questions remain open,” the note reads.
It goes on to call on the European Commission “to conduct a comprehensive impact assessment based on solid data rather than assumptions, also reflecting data obtained in other parts of the world”.

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