After years of negotiations, the European Parliament approved, on Wednesday June 17, new regulations very favorable to the cultivation of genetically modified plants using new genomic techniques (NGT).
Qualifiées of “new genetically modified organisms (GMOs)†by their detractors, these new kinds of cultures represent a major turning point for Europe, estimates the German radio website German wave. Because the European Union (EU) has “always maintained a cautious stance with regard to GMOs†, the use of which it has until now largely restricted, boasting of prioritizing the quality and traceability of its food.
What is the difference between NGT and classic GMOs?
Unlike traditional genetic modification techniques, NGT allows more targeted and smaller-scale modifications to the genome of a plant, and above all does not resort to the introduction of foreign DNA.
In the case of a GMO, whether the organism concerned is animal, plant or bacterial, it is modified by genetic engineering techniques, which, by integrating foreign DNA, can delete or modify genes to offer it new characteristics.
The seeds obtained from NGTs are the result of genome editing, a form of cutting-edge genetic engineering. Today we are well aware of the Crispr-Cas9 type genome editing tool, which allows the plant’s genes to be modified. He can delete or replace those which are defective. It allows, for example, to remove part of the DNA responsible for sensitivity to drought.
Why are NGTs authorized?
Supporters of this relaxation highlight the more rapid genetic progress enabled by NGT, which would offer the possibility of strengthening the sustainability of our food system in the era of global warming. Among other promises, the development of crops that use less water or are more resistant to drought, insect pests or bacteria, and less use of fertilizers and pesticides, lists a scientific article published in the journal Nature.
In addition, NGT would modify the plant’s genes in a more predictable manner compared to methods that had previously prevailed, such as “the introduction of chemicals or radiation to induce mutations in plants†, the precision German wave.
Representatives of the agricultural world and major European seed companies were also demanding them in the name of European competitiveness in the face of the United States and China, which have already used them, it was already noted. Financial Times in 2023. The general situation in the world is also an argument: more and more conflicts are having repercussions on agricultural production, with, as a consequence, an increase in the prices of foodstuffs, fuel or energy.
Why is this law worrying?
With this new regulation, the EU distinguishes two categories of NGT plants, and it is this classification that changes everything, explains the German wave. As soon as there are more than twenty genetic modifications (whether substitutions or insertions of genes) or the modification has allowed tolerance to herbicides, we consider that it is a GMO: this is the category of NGT-2 plants.
If there are fewer of them, on the other hand, the NGTs will not be considered as GMOs: these NGT-1s will not be constrained by the legislation concerning GMOs, in particular the obligation of transparency and traceability. Foods containing it will not be subject to mandatory labeling in supermarkets. In other words, we could consume genetically modified foods without even knowing it, as we explained in December 2025, when the European agreement on the subject was reached.
In addition to this potential loss of transparency, environmental protectors are offended by agricultural companies’ use of climate change as a pretext to deregulate genome editing, and see it as a victory for the seed lobbies. The fact that ethical questions linked to the privatization of life or the homogenization of cultures are barely mentioned by this regulation is also criticized.
Foods produced with NGT should not be on the menu of Europeans before 2028, until the testing phase and marketing are completed.
