The European Commission’s proposal to ease current restrictions on genetically modified crops has riled up EU organic farming leader Austria and its farmers.
“I think it’s outrageous… They have a nerve even considering this,” organic farmer Beate Brenner told AFP on her farm in a small village surrounded by grain and sunflower fields some 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of Vienna.
With about a fourth of all agricultural land certified as organic in Austria, the government has said it would lobby to block Brussels’ proposal.
Under the plan, the commission wants to allow gene editing with a plant’s existing DNA to escape the tough restrictions that apply to plants which have been modified using genes from another organism (genetically modified organisms or GMOs) in terms of authorisations, labelling and monitoring.
Grain farmer Brenner said Brussels should find better ways to address the challenges posed by climate change — with extreme weather threatening harvests.
She actively tries to explain Brussels’ proposal to her customers, who buy her bread, flour and other produce directly at her farm, online or in a few partner shops… Brenner’s customers say it is important for them that farmers work without chemical fertilisers — and above all without gene editing.
