A European legislative proposal is being studied to authorize the cultivation of NGT plants. These are plants created by the targeted application of new genomic techniques (NGT), such as the CRISPR technique. If this law is passed, it is possible that NGT plants will dominate European agriculture within a few years. In a new opinion, the Higher Health Council weighs their potential and the risks and supports the idea of a separate legal framework.
The European legislative proposal distinguishes between plants obtained with a limited number of genetic modifications (NGT1 category) and plants obtained with more radical modifications (NGT2 category). The risks associated with NGT1 plants are essentially the same as those associated with plants obtained by conventional breeding. The Council therefore welcomes this additional framework, which leaves more room for innovation in agriculture. Furthermore, the Council is convinced that the existing European legal framework, as well as the new legislative proposal, protects human beings and the environment equally. NGT2 plants remain subject to a very strict risk assessment, as required by European GMO legislation.
[Editor’s note: Read the entire opinion piece here. This article has been translated from French and edited for clarity.]