As stakeholders in the agri-food sector, we call on EU policymakers to ensure the freedom of choice and rights for consumers, supply chain operators, farmers and breeders by upholding mandatory labelling of new GMOs obtained by new genomic techniques (NGTs) as well as traceability across the entire value chain.
The use of NGT-GMOs in agriculture calls for a rigorous, science-based regulatory framework to protect consumer rights and the NGT-GMO-free conventional and organic food systems
Leading scientific bodies, consumer advocates and farmer and environmental organisations stress that labelling and traceability of NGT-plants and products are essential requirements—not optional measures—for maintaining transparency, accountability and freedom of choice for consumers, farmers and the food sector across the whole supply chain.
Removing traceability and labelling of GMOs undermines not only the fundamental rights of 450 million EU-citizens, but also the integrity of GMO-free agriculture. Without legally binding rules on labelling and traceability, the spread of NGTs will compromise the possibility to maintain GMO-free food production—starting from the seed level.