Panel Discussion on the Regulation of Genome Editing at the Green Week in Berlin

Together with other associations, such as the Industrial Association for Agriculture (Industrieverband Agrar), the Federal Association of Plant Breeders (Bundesverband der Pflanzenzüchter), and OVID, BIO Deutschland organized a panel discussion at the Green Week in Berlin.

Under the topic "Genome Editing and International Agricultural Trade – What Impact Will Future EU Regulations Have on Food Security?", Jaana K. Kleinschmitt von Lengefeld (President of OVID) and Klaus Behrend (Director of Food Safety, Sustainability, and Innovation at the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission) discussed with moderator Christoph Metzner (German Raiffeisen Association).

In 2023, the European Commission proposed a revision of EU genetic engineering legislation. The proposal suggests exempting plants from genetic engineering regulations if they have been modified through genome editing in a way that could also occur naturally. However, the EU's legislative institutions—the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the European Parliament—have not yet reached an agreement on this revision. Most recently, the Parliament issued a positive vote but only under the condition that the exemption from genetic engineering regulations be tied to a simultaneous ban on patenting these plants. The current, Polish, Council Presidency has proposed that each member state should decide on the patent issue individually. Since then, the process has stalled, and a swift decision is not expected.

The panel discussion highlighted the urgent need for action in international agricultural trade. Genome-edited plants are regulated very differently across the world. Major producers such as the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina no longer regulate these plants, allowing them to enter trade without labeling. As a result, German importers can no longer ensure that traded goods do not qualify as genetically modified under European law. Since the modifications in these plants could also occur naturally, detection methods are generally unavailable.

Further information on the event can be found here: