Why Big Agri Wants to Call New-Generation GMOs Anything but That

New genomic techniques, new breeding techniques, gene editing, precision breeding — these buzzwords may sound like winning moves in Scrabble, but they are mainly confusing for many of us.

And make no mistake, they were designed for that very purpose.

In reality, they quite simply refer to a new generation of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). Calling them ‘new GMOs’ would have been transparent, but such clarity would likely have sparked widespread public resistance to the European Commission’s legislative proposal to deregulate them.

The deliberate use of confusing and blurry concepts discourages informed debate, leaving citizens sidelined and journalists reluctant to dig deeper.

In July 2023, the European Commission unveiled its proposal to exclude these new GMOs from the existing EU GMO law.