Prior to the vote in the European Parliament concerning new genomic techniques (NGT) in plant breeding, Jan Plagge, President of Bioland, warned about the potential consequences for consumers. Speaking to Spiegel, he highlighted that the proposed regulation could open the seed market to new patents, stating, “This would cause us to lose sovereignty over our European seed stock. That will weaken the European economy, and food prices will rise.”
The head of the organic farming association further expressed concern that if the law passes without solving the intellectual property patent issue, they fear it could lead to one of the greatest innovation blockades for plant breeding ever experienced.
The European Parliament is scheduled to vote on Wednesday regarding the relaxation of rules for these so-called new genomic techniques. If passed, certain genetically modified foods could potentially be sold in supermarkets without mandatory labeling. Plagge emphasized the impact this has on the public, stating, “For consumers, this is about freedom of choice. Many people want to be free to decide whether they buy food with or without genetic modification.”
