Natasha Foote
Viewpoint: Using selective chemistry — Burdensome EU regulations prevent introduction of lower-impact agricultural pest control products
The EU has outlined its ambition to slash in half the use and risk of chemical pesticides in its flagship ...
‘Shockwaves in the global food chain’: Spain, Poland, Hungary beg European Commission for impact assessment on Farm to Fork plan pesticide cutbacks in face of Ukrainian invasion
EU member states have called for a new impact assessment on the European Commission’s proposal to slash the use and ...
Future of Farm to Fork strategy under scrutiny as Europe confronts food security threats sparked by invasion of Ukraine
The European Commission stood firm in its resolve to forge ahead with the EU’s sustainable food goals in the first ...
Overwhelming majority of Europeans support compulsory labeling of GM-derived food, claims study commissioned by EU Green group
[A] report, commissioned by the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament and carried out by the polling organisation Ipsos, surveyed ...
Europe could become an ‘agricultural museum’ unless it embraces crop gene editing, officials warn
Speaking during the AGRI Committee debate, right-wing MEP Mazaly Aguilar raised a concern that, by imposing new restrictions on the ...
UK launches consultation that could roll back restrictive CRISPR crop rules, unlock ‘substantial benefits’
In one of its first post-Brexit moves, England has launched a consultation on gene editing in a bid to unlock ...
EU needs new guidelines to evaluate environmental impact of gene-drive mosquitoes, food safety officials say
After being mandated by the European Commission, [European Food Safety Authority's] experts on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) published the scientific ...
European countries can ban pesticides even if approved by EU, continent’s highest court rules
Europe’s highest court [European Court of Justice, ECJ] has concluded that member states have the right to ban pesticides even ...
Europe approves imports of new GM herbicide-resistant soy, despite objections from Green Party, organic advocates
The genetically modified (GM) soybean, the XtendFlex, was approved after a comprehensive authorization procedure, including a scientific assessment by the ...
Gene-editing amendment to UK agriculture bill withdrawn, delaying farmer access to CRISPR crops
An amendment tabled in the new UK agriculture bill, designed to allow access to new gene-editing technology, has been withdrawn ...
Europe’s young farmers want to use latest sustainability tools—including gene editing
Young farmers’ organization, the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA), took a generally positive but cautious view on the Commission’s ...
Support for crop gene editing in UK, Europe grows as legislators aim to expand sustainable farming
Asked about the potential for biotech and gene editing in the Farm to Fork strategy (F2F), the EU’s new flagship ...
Green Party defends Europe’s simultaneous ban on gene-edited crops and use of biotech in medicine
[Editor's note: In June a faction of Germany's Green Party argued it was time the EU revised its strict regulation ...
Anti-biotech groups call for EU-wide ban on disease-fighting gene drives, defying scientists’ recommendations
[Editor's note: More than 78 European environmental and agricultural organizations have signed a letter calling for a moratorium on gene ...
Farm to Fork tempest: EU defends plan to make 25 percent of agriculture organic, ignoring farmer skepticism
[Editor's note: EU farmers are skeptical of a new government initiative to make 25 percent of Europe's farmland organic by ...
UK environment secretary backs relaxed CRISPR crop rules, but says GMO restrictions won’t change
Addressing MPs via video call, [UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, George Eustice] said that “gene ...
Before restricting Roundup weedkiller, EU lawmakers want to know how it could affect farmers
Any potential reduction of glyphosate in the EU should be preceded by an impact assessment exploring the consequence for farmers, ...
EU Food Safety Authority defends pesticide risk studies activists call ‘unfit for purpose’
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published the results of its two pilot assessments on the risks posed to ...
‘Maladapted’ EU regulation hinders non-toxic biopesticide development, despite growing farmer demand
Biological pesticides are rapidly gaining attention as a sustainable and viable environmentally friendly alternative to chemical pesticides. However, they are ...
Farm to Fork strategy: New EU Agriculture Commissioner wants to boost organic farming
The EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, highlighted the promotion of organic farming as a key aim for the new ...
EU CRISPR-edited crop rules still unclear, a year after landmark court ruling
After the controversial European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling in 2018 that organisms obtained by new plant breeding techniques (NBTs) ...
