A new scientific paper highlights the environmental risks associated with oilseeds, e.g. oilseed rape, camelina or pennycress, in which genetic material has been altered with new genetic engineering techniques (new genomic techniques, NGTs). One of the most common goals of this kind of genetic engineering is a change in the composition of the oil. The NGT plants are not necessarily harmless to the environment, as both an increase or decrease in polyunsaturated fatty acids can have a negative effect on pollinators that feed on the pollen.
The paper first appeared as a preprint in February 2024 and has now been published in the Environmental Sciences Europe journal following an extensive peer review process. It highlights the need for NGT plants to be risk assessed before they are released into the environment, even if no additional genes are inserted. One particular challenge in this respect is the speed of technical developments and the large number of different traits that can be obtained from NGTs.
The authors recommend risk assessing the various NGT plants and monitoring possible interactions between different NGT organisms in a shared environment, as NGT oilseed rape plants could, for example, either interbreed or crossbreed with wild plants, and thus spread in the environment.
According to Testbiotech, the legislator must prioritise transparency and control of NGT plants. The EU Commission, on the other hand, is planning to put most genetically engineered plants on an equal legal footing with conventionally-bred plants, thus removing the need for risk assessment. There would also be no requirement for the development of methods to detect the plants, or to introduce labelling or any post-release monitoring of plants. This means that the spread of the NGT plants in the environment and crossbreeding may go unnoticed.
Contact:
Christoph Then, info@testbiotech.org, Tel +49 151 54638040
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