Agrifood Brief: NGTs in the UK

‘Right now’ sang the Sex Pistols in the intro of their smash hit ‘Anarchy in the UK’ – a message echoing from across the Channel regarding Britain’s readiness to embrace gene editing technology.

And while the punk band’s dream of anarchy in the UK may have died down, the dream (or nightmare, depending on your view) of NGTs in the UK is alive and well. 

The term new genomic techniques (NGTs) – or new plant breeding techniques (NBTs) – describes several scientific methods used to alter genomes to genetically engineer certain traits into plants, such as drought tolerance.

Since Brexit, there has been some sort of unofficial biotech race between the UK and the EU, and whether you see it as a race to the top or the bottom, one thing is for sure – England left the starting blocks first.

Back in March of this year, while the EU was still waiting for the Commission to publish its long-awaited proposal on the legal framework for NGTs, Britain passed its Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act.

This act allows for a new simplified, science-based regulatory system, designed to facilitate research and innovation in precision breeding, while stricter regulations for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) remain in place.

The government described it as a “major step in unlocking growth and innovation in new technologies […] ensuring England becomes a world leader in agri-food innovation”. 

Day one of this system should be already the end of next year – basically the ‘right now’ the Sex Pistols sang about.

“The acts have now been passed into law in Enlgland. The Act’s provisions and technical details will now be implemented through secondary legislation by the end of 2024,” sources close the matter across the Channel told Euractiv.

This is also proudly presented as a (*cough* ‘the only’) Brexit ‘win’ for the country, meaning the UK has watched with interest the developments at the EU level.

After an EU court ruling confirmed the strictest marketing approval for these technologies, the Commission – a staunch advocate of gene editing technology in Europe – has since tried to work around the issue by publishing first a study, followed by a real proposal.

There are some key differences between the two legal frameworks.

Most obviously, NGTs in the EU will continue to be governed by the same legal basis, the EU’s 1999 GMO directive, but offered an easier marketing authorisation.

This means that contrary to the spin of the Commission, NGTs will still be considered under the broad umbrella of ‘genetically modified organisms’ (GMOs), which not only sparks strong reactions from the EU citizens, but also muddies the waters for its potential use. 

While the EU went for a much lighter touch, over in England precision-bred organisms “are not GMOs but separate entity,” the same UK source explained. This makes it easier create a tailor-made approach, making things clearer-cut and opening up further potential application avenues the future.

There are also similarities, for instance, the thorny issue of patentability is not adequately addressed on either side.

But the most relevant aspect of this race is that, while EU lawmakers are still hashing out the form of the proposal in the EU, the UK, contrary to the song, knows what it wants and knows how to get it.

By Gerardo Fortuna and Natasha Foote

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News of the week

Aussie trade deal collapses

After years of working towards a free trade deal between Australia and the EU, talks went ‘down under’ on Sunday (29 October) in Osaka after the two sides beefed over market access for agricultural products. This came as a ‘total shock’ for the EU, who had the bubbly on ice ready to celebrate the sealing of the deal, even flying out EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski ready for celebratory photos. 

So what happened? The deal fell on issues related to access to market for agricultural goods, specifically beef and sheep meat – a sticky issue considering Australia is one of the world’s largest agrifood exporters. 

What’s next? Despite both sides saying they hope to continue negotiations, sources say these are unlikely to resume before the EU and Australian elections – in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Another game-changer could be a long-awaited cumulative impact assessment from the Commission’s DG AGRI. The study, originally pencilled for April 2023 but has been repeatedly pushed back, is set to evaluate the impact of trade deals on the EU agricultural sector. This is unlikely to facilitate discussions about Australia in the coming months, an EU official pointed out.

NGTs, soil on ENVI menu

Lawmakers in the EU parliament’s environment committee (ENVI) are set to discuss the Commission’s proposal to liberalise the bloc’s legislation on new genomic techniques (NGTs) in their upcoming meeting on Tuesday. The committee will discuss the draft position tabled by the leading MEP on the file, conservative Jessica Polfjärd, who proposed allowing certain gene-edited plants in organic farming.

Also on the ENVI agenda is the EU Auditors’ Report on sustainable soil management, which concluded that EU tools for managing agricultural soils and manure sustainably “were not used sufficiently and that there remains considerable scope to improve soil health.”

Mixed marks on climate adaptation

The EU has made moves to adapt its agrifood system to climate change impacts but needs to step up its game, according to the OECD’s yearly agri policy monitoring report published this week, which focuses on climate adaptation this year.

While the EU Strategy on Adaptation adopted in 2021 was a good step, according to the report, “there are no adaptation targets or requirements for Member States, which makes it difficult to monitor efforts.” The authors also call to integrate better wider EU policies, such as flood-risk management measures, with ones focused on agriculture and to widen the scope of action from policies that directly benefit farm businesses to more encompassing measures.

The report comes amid discussions about how the CAP can adequately respond to the impact of increasingly frequent extreme weather events and whether the CAP’s agricultural reserve is the right instrument for this.

CAP corner

A view from the farm: From policy gaps to navigating the CAP. How can the EU help encourage new farmers into the profession? How is the new Common Agricultural Policy working on the ground, and is there a gap between Brussels and the lived reality for farmers? Euractiv visited Sébastien Geens, who has taken over his mixed crop-livestock family farm in a small village outside the Belgian town of Namur, to hear his thoughts about the future of farming. Watch the video here.

Agrifood news from the CAPitals

SPAIN

Fishers protest in the Metaverse. With a protest involving empty fish boxes and virtual reality glasses, Spanish fishers’ organisation Pesca España warned the country’s fishing sector is at risk and called for “a change of course” in EU policies. Euractiv’s partner, EFE Agro, has more.

ROMANIA

Recovery plan to finance pasture afforestation. Pastureland has been included in the category of agricultural land eligible for afforestation using funds from the recovery plan, according to an emergency decree issued by the Romanian government on Thursday, which “rectifies” parliament’s earlier removal of pastureland as an eligible category. Read more.

GERMANY

Help out to eat out? In a statement published on Thursday, an alliance of 17 food and agriculture associations called for the VAT rate on catered food to remain at a reduced level of 7%. While the regular VAT rate of 19% usually applies to food served in restaurants or canteens, a temporary reduction meant to support restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic is currently in place until the end of the year. While the industry associations argue this should be prolonged to boost the economy, some economists have argued that mainly rich people – who can afford to eat out more often – profit from the measure.

POLAND

The EU’s Halloween champion. Poland is the EU’s number one pumpkin producer, making up nearly 40% of the bloc’s total production in 2022. According to Commission data, Poland is followed by Spain, France, Portugal and Germany. However, Poland will likely be pushed off its throne as the EU’s pumpkin champion as soon as Ukraine joins the EU – the country produces around six times more pumpkins than its neighbour.

AUSTRIA

“Boost” for the agri sector. An extra €90 million per year until 2027 is set to give Austrian agriculture a “boost,” the country’s agriculture minister Norbert Totschnig announced on Tuesday. According to a ministry statement, the funds will be disbursed via the country’s sustainable farming subsidies programme ÖPUL, boosting the sector’s competitiveness. “Every euro we invest in the work of our farmers is an investment in Austria’s security of supply,” Totschnig stressed.

IRELAND

Irish beef may soon be on South Korean supermarket shelves. Good progress has been made in getting Irish beef on Korean supermarket shelves, the Irish agriculture minister said this week on a visit to South Korea, according to the Business Post. “We had a very positive meeting yesterday with the chairman of the Agriculture Committee, who’s responsible for stepping this forward… He committed to me at our meeting yesterday; he will be working to have that completed by the end of this year,” the minister said, calling it a “big step forward”. The news comes from a high-level trade mission to the country with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar alongside three government ministers this week designed to strengthen ties and work on untapped opportunities for Irish companies. 

UK

Farmers’ unfairly shoulder flood burden of storm Ciaran. The Country Land and Business Association has called on the UK environment agency for support so farmers “no longer bear the brunt of flooding issues alone” after the high winds and heavy rain brought by storm Ciaran wreaked havoc this week. The association lambasted years of poor management of watercourses and flood defences, which means farmers have been left to face the havoc caused alone. 

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

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