Some people have trouble digesting or show allergic reactions when they eat wheat flour foods. It is because of the gluten protein. Now, in Europe, a path has opened to choose flour without gluten. Europe has decided to lift regulations on gene-edited organisms (GEO) that prevent gluten from forming, unlike conventional genetically modified organisms (GMO).
On the 17th (local time), the European Parliament gave final approval by vote in a plenary session to a New Genomic Techniques (NGT) bill that lifts regulations on GEO. NGT is the European term for precision breeding or gene editing. The bill that passed centers on treating NGT-1 crops—those with variations at levels that can occur naturally among crops developed using gene-editing technologies—similarly to traditional breeding varieties. GMOs are classified as NGT-2 and will continue to be regulated.
◇ Accepted in the same way as traditional breeding
This decision by the European Parliament reflects the reasoning scientists have long advanced. GEO repairs genes within the same species and, in principle, does not differ from traditional breeding. Traditional breeding creates crops with desired traits by crossbreeding plants of the same species over generations for a long time. Scientists have said that gene editing merely shortens traditional breeding, which takes years, to a matter of months.
GMO differs from GEO in that it inserts genes from other species. A representative example is herbicide-tolerant GMO corn sold in most countries, including Korea, which has had genes from soil microorganisms inserted. GMOs have been consumed worldwide without any issues for the past 30 years, but because their principles differ from traditional breeding, they are regulated separately.
The United States, Japan and the United Kingdom eased regulations on GEO ahead of Europe. In 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture excluded a gene-edited button mushroom that prevents browning from GMO regulation. In 2021, Japan's Sanatech Seed began selling a tomato whose gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content was increased up to fivefold through gene editing. GABA, a neurotransmitter, helps lower blood pressure and relieve stress. In March 2023, the United Kingdom changed its law to allow the development and sale of GEO foods. Europe eased regulations only for crops, but the United Kingdom included livestock.
It took more than 10 years for gene-editing technology to win approval in Europe. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) began reviewing gene-editing technologies as early as 2012 and in 2024 released an analysis concluding that GEO is not harmful to human health. The European Commission (EC) officially submitted a bill to ease regulations on GEO and NGT crops on July 5, 2023. The bill that passed will take effect 20 days after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (EU) and, after a two-year grace period, will apply starting in 2028.
◇ Responding to climate change, boosting farm competitiveness
Scientists and seed corporations expect the law to speed the introduction of crops with improved disease resistance, heat tolerance and nutrition. The plant research institution network "European Sustainable Agriculture through Genome Editing," which has supported the legal revision, called it "a groundbreaking decision for science, innovation and sustainable agriculture in Europe."
In particular, gene editing is being credited with the potential to help prevent farm damage from climate change, as it can enable the development of drought-tolerant wheat and rice. According to Bloomberg, European agriculture suffers more than $32 billion (about 49 trillion won) in losses each year due to extreme weather such as droughts and floods driven by warming. The European farm groups "Farm Europe" and "Eat Europe" said, "European farmers will finally have the urgently needed tools to strengthen the resilience, competitiveness and sustainability of the agricultural institutional sector."
The bill also recognizes patents for GEO, benefiting large seed corporations such as Corteva and Bayer. Matthias Berninger, Bayer's head of public affairs, said in an interview after the vote, "For the past 30 years, there have been many dissonances and regulatory differences between the United States and Europe," adding, "With this vote, for the first time, we have a chance for regulatory convergence in agricultural biotechnology."
Some worry that GEO, like GMO, will become a tool for a few multinational seed companies to dominate the market, but the seed industry believes it will also energize emerging gene-editing corporations. Because GMO regulations are so stringent, small and midsize seed firms find it hard to clear the bar for commercialization, whereas GEO requires far less development expense and time, making it more suitable for small and midsize companies.
◇ A bill was introduced at home but is adrift
The "Gene Editing Bioindustry Development Council," a consultative body of domestic gene-editing corporations, also welcomed the European Parliament's passage of the NGT bill. Yu Jong-sang, CEO of ToolGen, which chairs the council, said, "The EU's final approval is a symbolic event showing that the global agricultural regulatory paradigm is shifting to a science-centered approach," adding, "Europe chose innovation, and now it is Korea's turn."
In Korea, in Sept. 2024, Choi Su-jin, a lawmaker of the People Power Party, introduced an amendment to the Act on Transboundary Movement, etc., of Living Modified Organisms (the LMO Act) to ease GEO regulations. Similar to the European NGT bill, it includes "distinguishing GEO from GMO and fully exempting from GMO regulation GEO at levels obtainable through natural mutations or traditional crossbreeding," but it has been pending for nearly two years. A gene-edited tomato fortified with vitamin D has been developed domestically but, unlike in Japan, has not been marketed.
References
European Parliament (2026), https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20260611IPR45215/new-genomic-techniques-for-plants-to-boost-innovation-in-sustainable-agriculture