A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #368 - Ecology - New Genomic Techniques: The FNSEA and Agribusiness Push for More GMOs (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

In the early 2000s, the actions of the "voluntary crop destroyers" and 
the Confédération Paysanne (Peasant Confederation) helped to regulate 
and limit the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in 
the European Union (EU). The EU, with the help of agribusiness and 
powerful agricultural unions, is attempting to push through seeds that 
will no longer be classified as GMOs. A GMO is obtained by introducing a 
portion of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or a gene from another species 
into the genome of a living organism in order to give it new 
capabilities: transgenesis. For example, "Monsanto 810" corn, obtained 
by introducing a gene of bacterial origin, allows the plant to produce 
an insecticidal molecule.

"GMO-Lite" Seeds
The European right wing is trying to find a way to allow the marketing 
of new genetically modified seeds. It is supported by agribusiness and 
intensive farming unions, led by one of France's most powerful lobbies 
for the productivist agricultural model: the National Federation of 
Farmers' Unions (FNSEA).

New genomic techniques (NGTs), which can also be called "GMO-lite," 
artificially introduce a gene from another variety of the same species. 
The risks will not be reduced; quite the contrary, because these NGTs, 
being considered traditional seeds, will not be subject to the 
regulations governing GMOs. As a result, most GMOs/NGTs will no longer 
be evaluated or labeled. Consumers who do not want them will thus 
unknowingly buy them.

Farmers will have no guarantee that the seeds they buy are not 
GMOs/NGTs. Small seed companies could easily be sued for trademark 
infringement, as they would be unable to prove that their seeds 
naturally contain genetic information similar to that described in the 
industrial patent. The risk of these mutants cross-pollinating with 
plants in their immediate environment cannot be ruled out. These crops 
could therefore contaminate organic (and non-GMO) crops. Adding insult 
to injury, the agribusiness industry has managed to make farmers solely 
responsible for any environmental and health damage caused by GMOs/NTGs!

In early December, Members of the European Parliament and EU Member 
States reached an agreement to allow the introduction of GMOs/NTGs. This 
agreement still requires formal adoption by the Member States in the 
Council and by MEPs in a final plenary vote before it can enter into force.

Protest march against Monsanto and GMOs in May 2025.
William Murphy
Moreover, Pascal Canfin, a Macron-Green MEP, hails this as "excellent 
news," with "more solutions to combat water shortages, drought, and 
rising temperatures." Let's not fall into this trap that would have us 
believe that technology will save us from disaster. The cultivation of 
GMOs worldwide for over 30 years has never been an answer to climate 
change or the decline in biodiversity. Only small-scale, local 
agriculture, free from the dependence on multinational agribusinesses, 
will be able to feed us adequately and reduce the impact of human 
activities on the environment.

C. (UCL Fougères)

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Nouvelles-techniques-genomiques-La-FNSEA-et-l-agro-industrie-forcent-pour-plus
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