GMO Bans in Europe May Progress

An environmental committee of the European Parliament approves a measure to allow members states to ban genetically engineered crops.

kerry grens
| 2 min read

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WIKIMEDIA, ALINA ZIENOWICZThe Environmental Committee of the European Parliament approved plans to allow members states to ban genetically engineered crops (also known as genetically modified organisms or GMOs), even if the European Union (EU) has approved them.

“The measures approved today [November 11] will secure flexibility for member states to restrict, ban the cultivation of GMO crops if they so wish. At the same time, we have secured a clear process for the authorization of GMOs at EU level, with improved safeguards and a key role for the European Food Safety Authority, which is important for us,” Parliament member Frédérique Ries of Belgium said in a press release.

European nations have had a mixed reception to genetically engineered crops, with some, such as France, staunchly opposed, and others more supportive. If enacted, the new rules would give countries the latitude to ban GMO crops on environmental grounds without having to negotiate with the companies that make them.

As ScienceInsider reported, biotech firms ...

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Meet the Author

  • kerry grens

    Kerry Grens

    Kerry served as The Scientist’s news director until 2021. Before joining The Scientist in 2013, she was a stringer for Reuters Health, the senior health and science reporter at WHYY in Philadelphia, and the health and science reporter at New Hampshire Public Radio. Kerry got her start in journalism as a AAAS Mass Media fellow at KUNC in Colorado. She has a master’s in biological sciences from Stanford University and a biology degree from Loyola University Chicago.

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