On 26 January, the Members of the European Parliament Jessica Polfjärd (SE, EPP) and Erik Bergkvist (SE, S&D) are hosting a webinar on “Genome editing and the Farm to Fork strategy”. The webinar will discuss the potential of genome editing to contribute to the F2F objectives, the current regulatory landscape for GMOs, and future governance options.

 

Time:                26 January 2021, 10:30-12:00

Event type:       Webinar, video streamed

Speakers:         Hosts; Prof. Wendy Harwood; Prof. Piet van der Meer; Dr. Tomasz Zimny; Q&A panel

Registration:     Programme and registration(click)

 

Background

The European Commission F2F strategy states  that innovations in plant breeding and crop production can contribute to a more sustainable food system. However, the continued regulatory uncertainty about the regulatory status of genome edited organisms may present obstacles to achieving this.

In 2018, the European Court of Justice ruled that products of newer forms of mutagenesis are GMOs that are not exempted from risk regulation. This ruling has often been interpreted as meaning that all genome-edited organisms should be GMO-regulated, but a recent analysis shows that such generic conclusions cannot be drawn, and that further clarification of the legal status of genome edited organisms is urgently needed. The study that the Commission is producing on request of the Council offers a good opportunity for that.