“With this new law, the French will face great difficulty in accessing GMO-free food”

LThe European Commission is preparing to open the doors of the European Union (EU) to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as a result of new genetic techniques (NTG).

If this bill is passed, foods containing new GMOs will no longer be subject to risk assessment and will not be detected or labeled. This is a serious attack on consumers’ freedom of choice and exposes us to many health and environmental risks.

today, 92% of French consumers The words “new GMOs” must be clearly indicated on the packaging of food products. With this bill, they will be denied the right to information, even though it is enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Article 169). It’s a program for French consumers who want to legally know what’s on their plate. Transparency at the heart of the bond of trust between agri-food producers and consumers, however, needs to be strengthened in the wake of repeated food scandals.

However, is informing consumers about NTGs enough? The extent of the impacts of new GMOs on human health has not yet been studied. Rather than being abolished, risk assessment should be maintained or strengthened, according to the precautionary principle. Without rigorous evaluation, French food security is compromised.

Major environmental hazards

This health risk is coupled with major environmental risks. Genetically modified (GM) plants can interbreed with wild plants. Spread their genes without control. A GM plant that tolerates a herbicide, for example, can pass this tolerance on to similar wild plants. New GMOs that produce insecticidal protein can harm other non-target insects that play an important role in our ecosystems.

In addition, NTG plants can behave like invasive plants that select for favorable traits and disrupt the existing natural balance. Should our countryside, already disrupted by biodiversity loss, climate change and chemical pollution, further weaken it and undermine its ability to produce healthy food for future generations?

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