Organic companies sign open letter to EU Commission

75 companies of the GMO-free food and feed industry have sent an open letter (German version) to the EU Commission. In this letter, the companies demand to ensure GM-free food production in Europe from EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis. Together, the companies generate 144 billion euros (2017) and employ 833,000 people. Among them are numerous organic companies, but also conventional trade companies such as Edeka, Rewe and Spar.

The letter is entitled "GMO-free food and feed industry welcomes legal certainty through ECJ ruling and demands safeguarding of GMO-free production".

Background

In recent years, novel techniques for the genetic modification of plants and animals have been developed. On 25 July 2018, the European Court of Justice ruled that organisms produced in this way (GMOs) must be legally considered as 'genetically modified' and regulated in accordance with the provisions of European genetic engineering law.