BIO Deutschland Calls for Improved Legal Parameters for Genetic Engineering

In the middle of March, BIO Deutschland urgently called on federal state representatives to vote on the Law on Genetic Engineering in the interests of an open and pluralistic economy. The reason for BIO Deutschland’s statement was a Bundesrat (Upper Chamber) session at which Bavaria’s submission on making the law stricter was discussed.

BIO Deutschland welcomed the Bavarian initiative to advocate greater legal security in the agricultural value-added chain when genetically modified traces are found in conventional seeds. However, these aims could be reached more easily and effectively by implementation in a General Administrative Regulation, in which the standardised sampling and measurement procedures were defined, and the extent of the steps to be taken in cases of proven genetically modified organisms were laid down. An extension of the existing liability regulations and an amendment of the Law on Genetic Engineering are not required.

If the existing law becomes even more complex, research and development projects in scientific institutions and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (iSME) in Germany could be completely discontinued.

“This type of policy is only of benefit to companies that can move their research to countries that have a greater willingness to innovate without incurring significant losses,” said Viola Bronsema, Managing Director of BIO Deutschland. She added, “In this way, we are now already relinquishing this promising research area to other economies.” Viola Bronsema therefore calls for the creation of parameters that guarantee appropriate freedom of research and give innovative SME the opportunity to launch pioneering discoveries in fair competition with existing products. To be able to do so, breeders, traders, processors and farmers need reliable legal parameters.