17.05.2024
Travel warning!
If safety cannot be guaranteed in a particular country, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) advises against travel and stays of any kind. If it were up to the opponents of genetic engineering, the FDFA would have had to urgently warn against travelling to the USA for years, as they claim that life and limb are at risk there. However, there is no such warning on the FDFA website. And so, New York, San Francisco and Las Vegas remain among the top 10 travel destinations for Swiss tourists.
If we take the warnings from opponents of genetic engineering seriously, a significant danger awaits on the plates in the USA - not due to the omnipresent fast food, but because travellers inevitably consume products made from or with genetically modified (GM) plants. Escaping GM food in the United States is nearly impossible. This will affect all who travel to the USA this summer. Why then does our Department of Foreign Affairs not warn us about this?
The answer is simple: genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been scientifically proven as safe for decades. Over 90 per cent of corn, rapeseed and soya in the USA are genetically modified. And genetically modified animal feed is also exported to Europe and ends up in German pigs' bellies. Genetic engineering is a success story. Nobody has been poisoned yet. There are no known victims. And the environment in the USA has not been contaminated irreparably by GMOs. Those traveling to the USA can relax and need only be wary of tornadoes and/or criminals.
But back to Switzerland. A petition from the newly founded Association for GMO-Free Food is circulating, backed by well-known organizations such as the Bio Suisse label, the Alliance for a GMO-Free Switzerland, and the Gen Au Rheinau association. The members of the association fear genetic engineering like the devil fears holy water. In order to «continue to protect humans, animals and the environment», they want to maintain the moratorium on genetic engineering. Even if this protection is not scientifically necessary. Because as explained: There is no danger. This allows only one conclusion. The moratorium does not serve to protect people and the environment. It aims to protect an ideology.
This is not only the case in Switzerland: the Supreme Court in the Philippines has apparently stopped the cultivation of Bt-eggplants (Bacillus Thuringiensis) and Golden Rice. Scientists are outraged about the ideological interpretation of the laws based on curious arguments about naturalness. And they respond with strong words. The precautionary principle is becoming a principle to prevent any novelty, if understood in a fundamentalist way. It should be about managing risks, not institutionalizing stagnation. Ultimately, all human progress is based on shaping the natural environment. Golden Rice can protect children from malnutrition, blindness and death. Yet, it has been torpedoed by Greenpeace for decades.
The renewed attentions from NGOs against all things «GMO» can be explained by the fact that the EU is moving towards a cautious opening towards certain new breeding technologies. We have reported on this before. In February this year, the EU Parliament approved a bill that would liberalise new breeding technologies. This is an important interim success. However, the EU legislative process is far from complete and key points of the bill are still likely to change. This is because in the EU, a law is not already passed when Parliament approves it in its first reading. So-called trilogue negotiations involve the Council of Ministers, Parliament and the EU Commission before a law can be definitively passed.
It should be noted that the EU's current efforts are not about transgenic genetic engineering. Instead, the point of contention is only the technique of targeted mutagenesis breeding. The results of these new breeding methods with the «genetic scissors» can hardly be distinguished from conventional random mutagenesis breeding. Conventional breeding triggers mutations through radioactive irradiation and the use of chemical substances. These methods are very widespread and seeds for organic farming are also often bred in this way.
Consequently, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in 2018 that this conventional mutagenesis is also genetic engineering. This is because this breeding technique involves humans deliberately changing the genetic information of plants. Strictly speaking, the opponents of genetic engineering are therefore rebelling against themselves, given the widespread use of such seeds, including in organic farming. However, scientists had no sympathy for the fact that the European Court of Justice only exempted this specific conventional form of genetic engineering from the EU rules on genetically modified organisms.
As in the EU, a regulatory opening is also being considered in Switzerland, provided no genes foreign to the species (no so-called transgenes) are used. The Parliament wants to regulate targeted mutagens outside of the Gene Engineering Act. We await the proposal from the Federal Council, which is supposed to present a new law by mid-2024 as mandated by Parliament. The days of the genetic engineering moratorium are numbered, announced Jürg Niklaus from the «Varieties for tomorrow» association in a recent guest commentary in the NZZ. However, even these cautious steps towards opening up go too far for opponents of genetic engineering. The science-sceptical circles want to nip any opening towards genetic engineering in the bud. Following the current petition, a popular initiative against GMOs has therefore been announced to start collecting signatures in autumn 2024. The exact wording is not yet known, but the statements made by the exponents make it clear that a total blockade on all modern plant breeding is intended to be enshrined in the constitution.
Meanwhile, organic agriculture pioneer Urs Niggli also speaks plainly in Schweizer Bauer: «New agronomic and technological solutions are needed». The new breeding methods known as «genetic scissors», such as Crispr, have the potential to revolutionise agriculture and nutrition. In «Volkswirtschaft», Isabelle Schluep and Markus Hardegger use a world map to show how these new technologies are becoming increasingly widespread around the world. In many countries, the same rules apply to them as to conventional varieties.
Biotechnologically bred plants have been cultivated in many parts of the world for around 25 years. Several publications confirm the significant benefits of biotechnology in agriculture. The cultivation of these plants has a positive effect on the environment, the climate and farmers' yields. High productivity on existing agricultural land can prevent agriculture from spreading into natural habitats and rainforests. Something that is also close to our hearts as Europeans.
However, the opponents of genetic engineering continue to blow their old horn. They remain undeterred, even though their safety arguments are scientifically untenable. The contrast will become apparent when traveling: In the USA, petunia plants that glow in the dark will be coming onto the market in the next few weeks. These GM plants are illegal in Switzerland. Beat Keller, Professor of Molecular Plant Biology, finds the comparison with the rules for genetic engineering in Switzerland difficult to understand from a scientific point of view. Politics is at a crossroads.
Government travel advice is very useful as a guideline. But those who stay home out of sheer fear, shut themselves off from the world. «Travelling educates» as the saying goes. It's the same with technology. Those who only follow repetitive technological warnings will miss sustainable solutions for the future.
Your swiss-food editorial team
