KWS welcomes the results of the EU Commission study on new breeding technologies

KWS welcomes the results of the EU Commission study on the handling and evaluation of new breeding methods. KWS remains convinced that these new breeding methods are an important tool for the future of sustainable agriculture, for maintaining food supply and for achieving the Farm to Fork targets. The speed and precision of these methods allow breeders to develop better regionally adapted plant varieties that respond to the challenges posed by climate change, degradation of land and plant diseases.

Plants developed using these methods could have occurred naturally or using conventional breeding methods, as there is no introduction of foreign DNA. KWS therefore supports an adjustment of the EU Court ruling that plants developed with the help of these Genome Editing methods are no longer classified as genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

We want to continue to be part of an open discussion on the future of new breeding methods. Therefore, we support the initiation of a process to consider options for adapting the current regulation of genome edited plants and to enable the design of a new legal framework in a timely manner.

All details regarding the EU Commission study are available here.