At a standstill for months, the EU's plan to free so-called new genomic techniques (NGTs) from GMO rules could move forward on Friday 14 March — delivering on efforts from Europe’s factory farm capitals to override opposition from countries concerned about small and organic farmers, as well as the proposed lack of health and environmental risk assessments. While initially one of the member states slamming the brakes on a deal, Poland, since the start of its EU Council presidency in January, has flipped — to the dismay of many of its own agri-food players. Several EU diplomats and Polish stakeholders said Poland’s U-turn came after “unseen” levels of pressure coming at Warsaw from all fronts. In Brussels, industrial farming and biotech hubs like Spain and Belgium led the charge during their presidencies, zeroing in on Poland’s concerns about patents after realising that, due to its population, its vote could move the file forward. An EU diplomat said, "We have a feeling many things are going through by force; our impression over the whole proposal was that [there was] an intention to push it down our throats without proper work done beforehand." Austria says the bill risks obliterating the organic and GM-free sectors. [GMW: This is an excellent and revealing article that is worth reading in full.] EU Observer

 

 

A GM gene-edited wheat trial forming part of the PROBITY research programme has got the go-ahead from farm ministry DEFRA under the new deregulated "qualifying higher plant" (QHP) system. The gene-edited wheat is engineered to have low levels of asparagine, an amino acid that produces the carcinogen acrylamide when wheat is cooked at high temperatures, such as with burnt toast. GM Freeze said the wheat was apparently developed for people "who are unable to use a toaster properly". More concerning, in terms of potential contamination, is the three-year QHP oilseed rape trial that was also given the go-ahead. The full list of QHPs notified for trials is here (scroll down to header, "Notifications to release qualifying genetically modified higher plants"). GMWatch comment on UK government documents

 

 

A new constitutional amendment in Mexico targets GMO corn seeds produced in the United States and other countries. In Mexico, corn is central to culture and national identity. “Corn is Mexico”, President Claudia Sheinbaum says. Mexico’s leaders voted to enshrine that concept in the Constitution, declaring native corn “an element of national identity” and banning the planting of GM seeds. Threats by President Trump to impose tariffs and launch the US military against drug cartels increased support for the amendment. LA Times

 

 

In recent years, GMOs have been increasingly framed as a solution to climate change – engineered to withstand droughts, resist pests and increase yields in extreme conditions. However, not only are these claims unproven since no GM crop has yet been developed that outperforms non-GM crops in these traits, but the impacts of climate change on GM crops is unknown. Far from providing a solution to climate change, could a warmer and more volatile world actually increase the environmental risks of these crops? Research in this area is thin on the ground but, at a time when weather patterns are becoming increasingly unpredictable, there is good reason to be asking the question now. Beyond GM

 

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