Open Letter from the associations of the agricultural and food sector regarding the judgment of the European Court of Justice on new breeding methods

The judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in case C-528/16 of 25 July 2018 on the application of targeted mutagenesis using new breeding methods causes great concern in the entire agricultural and food sector. In a sweeping approach, the court decision classifies, inter alia, all plants obtained with targeted mutagenesis methods such as CRISPR/Cas9 as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and also their products become subject to labelling according to the GMO legislation. This judgement has a huge impact and practically blocks the implementation of new breeding methods in Germany and the EU, and hampers a beneficial use of these methods for biodiversity, sustainability and agriculture.