Neither Conventional nor GMO. What’s the Place of ‘New Genomic Techniques’ in Organic Agriculture?

In a recent opinion piece, a group of international researchers says that by barring specific genetic engineering techniques, the European Union is missing a critical opportunity to advance organic agriculture. If embraced, these techniques could help the bloc to meet its 25% organic farmland target by 2030, and close the roughly 20% yield gap in organic production, they say.

What they’re referring to are ‘new genomic techniques’ or ‘NGTs’. These aren’t conventional plant breeding methods, but nor do they strictly fit the definition of ‘genetically modified organisms’ or ‘GMOs’. As such, plants that are created using NGTs currently exist in a kind of regulatory limbo in the EU, where plant breeding is a contentious issue that has led to strict legal controls on how it is used.

New genomic techniques mostly involve targeted genetic changes to a plant’s existing genes. This can involve the use of tools like CRISPR-Cas9 to snip out and change portions of DNA. These small tweaks allow a range of possible benefits, from breeding crops that produce higher yields, are more resistant to certain pests and disease, are better able to tolerate drought, or even have higher concentrations of particular nutrients.

Because NGTs only tinker with a plant’s existing genes and typically don’t involve the transfer of foreign genes into a plant from another source, they are considered different to GMOs which can include these methods.