Genetically Modified Plants (GMOs) Are Coming to Our Plates!

On the initiative of the organizations Aegilops, GEOTEE, the SITŌ Network, and the Greek office of Greenpeace—and supported and co-signed by 34 additional Greek organizations—an open letter was sent today to Greek Members of the European Parliament, ahead of the vote of 28 January[1] in the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment. The vote concerns new legislation on new deliberately modified plants derived from New Genomic Techniques (NGTs), which, among other provisions, abolishes product labelling requirements.

The organizations call on Greek Members of the European Parliament to vote in favor of consumers, farmers, and the environment, and against genetically modified organisms (the new GMOs). We remind MEPs that Greece has historically taken a leading role within the EU in securing the adoption of the five-year European moratorium (temporary ban) on genetically modified plants, until the current EU legislation was established for risk assessment, labelling, and traceability.

Specifically, we urge Greek MEPs to demand the rejection of the exemption of NGT1 plants from existing legislation, as this exemption removes critical safety safeguards, such as:

• the mandatory public disclosure of detection methods and DNA sequencing of NGT plants,
• the requirement for risk assessments and mandatory post-release environmental monitoring for potential impacts on human health and the environment,
• traceability and labelling of NGT products all the way to the final consumer,
• the right of a Member State to prohibit the cultivation of NGT plants within its national territory.

Without these safeguards, farmers who wish to avoid cultivating NGT seeds (organic and/or conventional), as well as consumers, remain unprotected. We further stress that these patented products will create legal and economic problems not only for farmers but also for the food processing sector.

As representatives of Greek citizens, our Members of the European Parliament have a duty to ensure that technological progress goes hand in hand with transparency, safety, and democratic freedom of choice. They must rise to the occasion and vote in favor of guarantees that protect the environment and our rights. Innovation in NGTs is not currently prohibited in Europe; for the time being, it falls under existing legislation, and safety rules should not be dismantled before this new technique has been adequately tested.