Nanotechnologies in the field: nothing new in twenty years?
Patents involving the use of nanos* in agriculture have multiplied over the last 20 years. However, there has been no improvement in the availability of information in this field. A recent report, commissioned by AVICENN and published by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), re-emphasizes the need to change European regulations in order to better identify, assess and manage nanos in the fields and the food. AVICENN is calling for greater transparency on the marketing and risks of nanomaterials that have long been used in agriculture.
Patents and GMOs: different stakeholders, different solutions
Since July 2023, the issue of patents on living organisms has been at the heart of debates in the European Union. These debates were sparked by the European Commission’s proposal to stop assessing the risks associated with GMOs, to stop labelling them as such, and to put an end to their detection and identification. In December 2024, a conference allowed several stakeholders of the debate to express their opinion.
Copa-Cogeca’s ambiguities on the issue of plant patents
For a year and a half, the Council of the European Union has been unable to reach an agreement on the deregulation of GMOs, mainly because of the problems posed by patents on those GMOs or on the techniques used to obtain them. According to Copa-Cogeca, those two issues should be dealt with separately. Its proposal is to adopt the deregulation of GMOs as quickly as possible and postpone the study of the problem posed by patents. Even if it means forgetting that farmers are indeed affected by patents.
Seeds regulation: the industry weighs in the balance
At a time when the European Union is preparing new regulations on seeds, a look at the meetings between MEPs and the various stakeholders indirectly shows the weight of the multinationals in these procedures. This raises questions about the imbalance in the representation of these parties and the potential consequences for small seed companies, farmers and peasants.
French retailers want GMO/NGT to be regulated
When it comes to GMOs, french retailers say they are guided by two main principles: the application of the precautionary principle, and the traceability and consumer information. In France, this stakeholder in the agri-food sector has reservations, to say the least, about the proposed deregulation of GMOs. In June 2023, at the invitation of Anses experts, the french trade and retailing federation (Fédération du Commerce et de la Distribution), currently chaired by the CEO of Carrefour, shared its thoughts.
