The Soil Association has responded to today’s (Monday 30th September) announcement by Defra that it will introduce new legislation to support precision breeding.
Soil Association Director of Policy Brendan Costelloe said: “We are disappointed with Defra’s commitment to push forward with PBOs in spite of public opinion, and the risks this could pose to our ability to trade organic produce. It is, therefore, vital to both consumer confidence and the organic sector that the right statutory instruments are now put in place ensure full transparency of PBOs with clear labelling to reassure and protect consumer choice, secure the organic and GMO Free sector and protect trade. We are absolutely determined to work with Defra to deliver these reassurances.
“This is critical for the entire organic food sector to maintain the legal standards required and to ensure that the thousands of organic businesses in the UK can trade with Europe and with other countries who have exclusions on Genetically Modified Organisms including PBOs. We must avoid any barriers to consumer choice and trade at all costs – the organic food sector is worth over £3.2 billion.”
Brendan said: “Defra’s own public consultation showed that 85% of the public had genuine misgivings about gene-editing and its long-term unforeseen implications and wanted to see clear labelling of any foods containing GE ingredients and robust system of tracing and licensing producers using GE ingredients.”
