Allow for genome editing to make agriculture more sustainable

The EPP Group wants to make agricultural plants more sustainable and resilient to climate change. "We must also allow for innovation in European agriculture," says Jessica Polfjärd MEP, the European Parliament’s lead negotiator on the new rules regarding genome editing, ahead of the vote on the law later today in the Parliament's Environment Committee.

"If we want to make agriculture more sustainable, more resistant to pests and extreme weather conditions, if we want to produce more food in Europe and increase food security, then we need new genomic techniques. They will enable the development of improved crop varieties more precisely and quickly than any other traditional method," stresses Polfjärd.

Polfjärd explains that the current legal framework, which does not allow European agriculture to benefit from ground-breaking innovations such as CRISPR/Cas9, is hopelessly outdated. "With this vote, my colleagues from all political groups have the opportunity to take a clear stance in support of science, innovation and sustainable European agriculture," Polfjärd concludes.