Figure: “We should be open to all kinds of technologies that help us facing the challenges that lie ahead of us,” centre-right MEP Norbert Lins said. Photo Source: Alexis HAULOT/European Union

As the European Commission's food safety service is finishing the long-awaited proposal on whether to loosen the rules on new genomic techniques (NGTs), member of the European Parliament (MEP) Norbert Lins said that the European Union (EU) must work towards regulation that enables the responsible use of new genomic techniques to innovate the farming sector while remaining centered around the precautionary principle.

For MEP Lins, who is also chair of the European Parliament's agriculture committee, the EU needs NGTs for urgently-needed innovations in plant breeding. A vocal advocate of the technology, he said that the legislative proposal, expected to be released in July, should be designed so that it does not impose any unnecessary restrictions on agriculture. He added that the EU must embrace all potential tools in the toolbox to help future-proof the farming sector against climate change.

“We should be open to all kinds of technologies that help us face the challenges that lie ahead of us,” MEP Lins said, adding that new breeding techniques can be “one tool to reduce pesticide use, ensure food security, and help to adapt to climate change”.

For more details, read the article in Euractiv Agrifood.

https://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/ged/article/default.asp?ID=20197