Articles

Food Standards Agency on PBOs: ‘We’re Not Listening’

From News

The Food Standards Agency has published the report on its public consultation on the marketing of genetically modified precision bred foods (PBOs) in England. It asked for citizen views – and then ignored them.

EU Votes to Deregulate Gene Editing

From News

A lengthy vote in the European Parliament today has resulted in significant deregulation of gene edited organisms under new European legislation. But how favourably or unfavourably do the new rules compare to what’s going on in the UK?

Detection of new GMOs – Possible and Necessary for Transparency and Public Trust

From News

Detection of gene edited organisms is possible and detection methods must be demanded from the developer as a condition of approval of gene edited food and feed. Read the new joint briefing from Beyond GM and GMWatch.

Guidance on the FSA Consultation on Precision Breeding

From Articles

We have had many requests for help in filling in the Food Standards Agency (FSA) consultation on the deregulation of genetically modified precision-bred organisms (GMO/PBOs) in UK food and feed. Here’s some basic guidance on the consultation to help you choose a way to respond that suits you.

Food and Farming Business Experts: Food Standards Agency Consultation on Precision-Bred Organisms is “Misleading” and “Flawed”

From News

A group of experts representing business, farming, certification, academia, science and civil society have lodged a formal complaint against the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA), raising serious concerns about its public consultation process on genetically modified precision bred organisms (PBOs) and calling for the consultation to be withdrawn.

Genetic Technologies in Food and Farming – A Manifesto for the Next Government

From News

Genetically engineered organisms in agriculture are, first and foremost, a food system and environmental issue. In recent years the UK government has sought to recontextualise them as a science and innovation issue divorced from their real world uses and consequences. Our 2024 manifesto calls for GMOs to be put back in their rightful context and for this to be the basis for rational policy and regulation of agricultural genetic technologies.

European Commission Under Fire for GMO Deregulation Proposals

From News

Experts and advocates across the spectrum of science, policymaking, consumers, civil society and ethics – including Beyond GM – gathered recently at a conference at the European Parliament to to examine the impacts of the European Commission’s proposals to deregulate what it calls New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) aka new GMOs. Their analysis was devastating.

UK’s Agroecological Farmers Wary of Genetic Technologies

From Articles

Preliminary findings from the Agroecological Intelligence project by A Bigger Conversation have found that UK agroecological farmers are wary of genetic technologies in agriculture. Here’s what the farmers have to say.

Genetic Technology Bill Becomes Law

From News

The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill became law late yesterday afternoon. This means it will now be legal to grow and sell gene edited foods in England without labels or environmental or food safety assessments. Here’s some thoughts and early impressions.

Gene edited foods in our shops soon? Reality vs hype

From Articles

The UK government says gene editing will fill our shops with better food. The reality is more empty promises and more empty shelves. Although several gene-edited crops and a few animals have been approved for commercialisation over the last decade, particularly in the US and Japan, few have made it to market and most have been abandoned.