News EU policy
'Without GMO, sustainability is in danger'
To make agriculture more sustainable, genetic modification techniques (GMO) must be allowed – also in organic farming. That appeal is made by a group of international scientists in the magazine Trends in Plant Science.
The group includes scientists from Wageningen University, the University of Bayreuth in Germany and the University of California in the US.
In May 2020, the European Commission presented its Farm-to-Fork (F2F) strategy, which is part of the European Green Deal. The aim is to make the agricultural sector more sustainable. According to the group of scientists, it is by no means certain that under current European legislation, agriculture will actually become more sustainable in the plans.
New techniques often banned
Various applications of new biotechnology are severely restricted or even banned in the EU. The current legislation needs to be relaxed so that these new techniques can also be used in the EU, say the scientists. If this does not happen, the expansion of the organic acreage could turn out to be counterproductive. Food production is becoming less sustainable instead of more sustainable.
According to the researchers, the production of organic companies is approximately 20% to 25% lower per hectare than that of conventional farmers. An expansion of the organic acreage has unintended effects on land use. More land is needed to achieve the same production. There is a chance that more forests, swamps and other natural areas will be cleared to continue to meet demand. This does not only have to happen in the EU, but also in other parts of the world through food imports.
Organic farming also has some environmental problems. The researchers point out, for example, that common fungi, especially in potato cultivation and some horticultural crops, can only be controlled with toxic copper-based agents. Some harmful insects can only be controlled with broad-spectrum biological agents. These are harmful to bees and other insects that are not specifically controlled.
Technology can help
New biotechnological breeding techniques such as CRISPR-Cas can make a significant contribution to reducing the negative side effects of organic farming. Resistant and robust crops can be developed in a more targeted and faster manner, according to the researchers.
Stimulating organic farming while continuing to restrict and/or ban new technological innovations is at odds with each other, according to the researchers. These should in fact reinforce each other, they argue.
The scientific article is here to read.
Jurphaas Lugtenburg
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