Leading scientists call for science-based policy making to safeguard plant breeding innovation

"As European leaders in the field of plant sciences we are committed to bringing innovative and sustainable solutions to agriculture, but we are hindered by an outdated regulatory framework that is not in line with recent scientific evidence. With this mission statement we hope to promote evidence-informed policymaking in the EU, which is of crucial importance to us all,“ says Dirk Inzé, Scientific Director at VIB and one of the initiators of the position paper.
In August, the organizers of the International Plant Molecular Biology congress in Montpellier, France started an online petition calling for a review of the ruling. The petition has now attracted more than 5,200 signatures, including Inzé’s. It declares that there is “no scientific rationale” for the ruling and that the EU should regulate crop genetic techniques on the basis of science.
And on 13 September, researchers from 33 UK science, farming and agricultural–technology organizations sent an open letter to the UK government to encourage recognition of gene editing as a non-GM method.
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