There is a burning debate in Europe about the future of GMO regulation. The [European Court of Justice] will announce a landmark ruling on July 25. If seed companies get their way, [new breeding techniques] such as CRISPR / Cas9 could be exempted from regulation.

…

To protect human health and the environment, the genetic engineering regulations prescribe preventive measures. They thus follow the so-called precautionary principle: Potential damage to the environment and health should be avoided in advance.

…

If the [new breeding techniques] are not regulated like genetic engineering, genetically modified plants will come onto the market without risk assessment and labeling. There are then:

no mandatory risk assessment for humans and the environment,

no labeling of genetically modified products,

no mandatory safety measures to prevent contamination of non-GMO products,

and no possibility to temporarily restrict or prohibit the use of the product in case of danger to health or the environment.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in German. This English summary has been prepared with Google Translate and lightly edited for clarity.

Read full, original article: Regulate new genetic engineering methods