More than 60,000 citizens have taken part in a postcard campaign organised by Bavarian organic farming and environmental organisations against the deregulation of plants engineered with so-called ‘new genomic techniques’ (NGT). The ‘No free flight for GMOs’ campaign called for mandatory labelling, traceability and risk assessment for NGT plants. It also opposed patents on seeds, plants and animals.
CSU MEP Manfred Weber did not attend the handover on 3 April. Weber is the Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, which voted against labelling, traceability and risk assessment of GM plants in February 2024. Weber himself did not attend the vote. At home, his CSU is still calling for a GMO-free Bavaria.
CSU Minister Kaniber supports European Parliament position
The Bavarian Minister of Agriculture, Michaela Kaniber (CSU), expressly supports the labelling obligation. She backs the position of the European Parliament with regard to the ‘mandatory labelling of plants and products of all categories of GMOs’. She also told Informationsdienst Gentechnik: ‘Under no circumstances should there be an expansion of patenting to the detriment of breeders and farmers’. Kaniber could potentially play an important role in the new German government.
The EU Council of Ministers, European Parliament and Commission will now negotiate the final NGT regulation in so-called trilogue talks. Unlike the Commission and Council of Ministers, the European Parliament has voted in favour of labelling and traceability for all GM plants. It also called for a comprehensive ban on patents on NGT plants.
The first trilogue meeting is scheduled to take place on 6 May in Strasbourg.
Image: ©Rapunzel Naturkost
