Cooking up a storm? Belgian restaurants warn “new GMO” deregulation undermines culinary integrity

05 Feb 2024 --- Belgian cooks are urging EU decision-makers to reject the deregulation of New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) in agriculture because they claim these “next-gen” genetically modified organisms (GMOs) risk destroying the credibility of high-quality restaurants.

The European Parliament will vote on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) proposal this week, after which trilogues will begin (if the proposal passes).

In an open letter on Friday, Belgian cooks, including members of the Slow Food Cooks Alliance, said they are concerned about the impacts of NGT deregulation on biodiversity, ingredient and culinary integrity and the freedom of choice for customers and suppliers.

The letter lists five key reasons why new GMOs should not be deregulated, the first being that labeling would not be required, making it impossible for restaurants to “make informed choices in the kitchen” and control what they serve to their customers.

Sustainability or profit?
The justification of the European Commission’s (EC) proposed deregulation is to make access to NGTs “easier,” as the industry claims the new technology would advance sustainable production.

However, Slow Food, an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking, argues the proposal and report adopted by the ENVI in January is “full of shortcomings and empty promises, and strongly aligned with agri-business lobby groups.”

“Many NGTs — rather than being engineered for sustainability — prioritize enhancing market value for agribusiness, such as improving appearance,” the organization says in a press release.

The issue surrounding the patenting of NGTs will also not be resolved under the deregulation, it adds, “paving the way for the privatization of products by a few multinational corporations and undermining farmers’ fundamental rights to seeds.”

IFOAM Organics Europe, an umbrella organization for organic food and farming, has called for the vote to be delayed due to “unsolved issues” with the proposal.

But chemical giants KWS, BASF and Bayer told us that NGTs can help alleviate food security fears while the transparency concerns can be overcome. These leading NGT players welcome the legislation as an opportunity for Europe to lead in sustainable agriculture.

They also stress the “clear distinction” between NGTs and GMOs. With GMO technologies, scientists can incorporate genes from other species, like other crops or bacteria, in a plant’s DNA. But with NGTs, scientists work purely with a plant’s own DNA.

Deregulation dispute
Scientists, including from the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility, and official bodies like the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and the French National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, emphasize the necessity of case-by-case safety assessments, labeling and traceability for “new GMOs.” All these checks are removed in the current proposal. 

“Deregulating ‘new GMOs’ is a false solution to the multiple crises we face across the food system, including the strains faced by farmers,” says Marta Messa, Slow Food’s secretary general.European restaurants say they can’t guarantee their customers organic or GMO-free ingredients if NGT deregulation is enforced.

“If we want to transition toward sustainable food systems, we need farmers and citizens to be able to choose and know where their seeds and food are coming from: the EC’s proposal takes away that right.”

Slow Food claims that, due to the lack of transparency surrounding the arrival of “new GMOs” on the market, citizens will lose the choice to buy and consume GMO-free food. Similarly, chefs and restaurateurs cannot guarantee their customers organic or GMO-free ingredients. 

Meanwhile, Plants for the Future encourages the European Parliament to adopt the new legislation and deregulate NGTs.

“We hope the Parliament will reach a positive vote in plenary, and the EU Council will reach a common approach. If this happens, there is a real possibility that a final legislative text could be agreed before the Parliamentary elections in Spring,” says Amrit Nanda, executive manager of the European technology platform.

“This [deregulation] would remove a major barrier for European breeders, farmers and researchers, allowing access to safe and innovative tools, thereby enabling breeding to better contribute toward more sustainable agri-food systems and the EU Green Deal goals.”

By Joshua Poole