Reform of European seed legislation and new genetic engineering: double attack on our seeds

July 5, 2023, ARCHE NOAH today released a statement in response to the European Commission’s proposals for the revision of the legislation on the marketing of seeds and the deregulation of “new genomic techniques”. Seeds4All
endorsed the declaration, which raised the alarm about the threat these proposals pose to the future of genetic diversity in Europe and called on agriculture ministers and MEPs to protect farmers, consumers and biodiversity. Read it in full below.

For more information on the work of Seeds4Alls, check out our page here on the ARC2020 website, as well as our dedicated project website and most recent publication.

July 5, 2023, ARCHE NOAH Press Release

The EU proposals feed the monopoly at the expense of farmers and consumers

Brussels, Vienna, Schiltern Today the European Commission presented the legislative package on the “sustainable use of natural resources”, which includes the new “EU Regulation on seeds” and a legislative proposal to deregulate the “New Genetic Engineering”. “We are appalled by this attack on
our seeds and crop diversity in Europe,” says Magdalena Prieler, policy manager for ARCHE NOAH in Brussels. “With these proposals, we run the risk of multinationals gaining complete control over our food. Agriculture ministers and the European Parliament must act to protect farmers, consumers and
biodiversity!

According to ARCHE NOAH, who has practical experience in the cultivation and sustainable use of crop plant diversity, the proposed Seed Marketing Regulation burdens the transfer of different seeds with excessive rules, to the detriment of agriculture and crop diversity. Any transfer of seeds outside the private sphere is classified as “marketing” and subject to strict bureaucratic rules. Even the transfer of seeds for the conservation of diversity, which has so far been freely possible in Austria for
example, must be strictly limited. “Seed initiatives, gene banks and farmer networks across Europe preserve the genetic diversity of crop plants. This valuable work must not be jeopardized by bureaucratic and impractical requirements”, asks Magdalena Prieler of ARCHE NOAH

Today is also a dark day for farmers who want to preserve their independence from the big seed corporations. According to the current plan, they are only allowed to trade their seeds in small quantities and under certain conditions. The sale is no longer possible. Even public gene banks, private collections and seed initiatives are no longer allowed to give their seeds to farmers. “The draft denies farmers the right to sow! Important alternatives to industrial seeds are being destroyed. Our farmers want to be able to decide for themselves which seeds to buy and grow, also to adapt their fields to the climate crisis,” says Prieler.

ARCHE NOAH calls for the spread and sustainable use of crop diversity to be expressly permitted and for all regulations that hinder this work to be abolished from the seed law. Furthermore, the right of farmers to harvest, use, exchange and sell their seeds, as enshrined in international law, must be implemented. ARCHE NOAH welcomes the fact that the sale of seeds to hobby gardeners is exempt from the variety certification requirement. Private exchange and sale should remain completely free, but this one
the diversity concession does not mitigate the serious shortcomings of other parts of the legislation.

ARCHE NOAH sees the planned deregulation of the new genetic engineering as an additional burden for the (GMO-free) conservation of cultivated plant diversity. Our farmers would be at the mercy of powerful agrochemical multinationals such as Bayer, BASF, Corteva and Syngenta, which already control more than half of the global seed market.” Patents on GM plants provide exclusive rights to use some important characteristics and block the development of new varieties”, warns Magdalena Prieler of ARCHE NOAH. “The use of
disease resistances that are essential for survival must not be privatized. The new genetic engineering is first and foremost a tool with which companies can push their competitors out of business and further expand their control over our food system.”

The EU seed regulation proposed today will replace ten existing directives. It regulates the production and marketing of seeds and other plant propagating materials (potatoes, fruit plants, etc.). With the new regulation, the European Commission intends to bring outdated seed legislation into line with the objectives of the European Green Deal. “We urgently need more diversity in our fields and on our plates to tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis and to produce tasty and healthy food. Unfortunately, this draft falls short of that goal,” Prieler notes.

In the coming days, the European Parliament and the Council of Agriculture Ministers will begin work on the bill. A first exchange is scheduled for the Council meeting on 25 July. “Agriculture ministers and Parliament have a lot of work to do: they must reclaim farmers’ right to seeds and protect crop diversity from overregulation and patents! Because genetic diversity is our insurance against tomorrow’s challenges,” summarizes Magdalena Prieler.

Investigations:
ARCHE NOAH, Association for the conservation and dissemination of cultivated plants
Diversity
Axel Grunt
Communication Manager
+43 680 2379245
axel.grunt@arche-noah.at
Magdalena Priler
Seed Policy Officer (Brussels)
+43 676 7750132
magdalena.prieler@arche-noah.at

Moreover

Draft new regulation on GMOs: key elements and first reactions

Seed Marketing Reform – Commission hints at Faustian hybrid

The Balkan Seed Network paves the way for agrobiodiversity

Extract | Arche Noah report on seed marketing reform in the EU