Parlement européen, Panel STOA (Panel fot the Future of Science and Technology), note « What if crop protection were environment friendly ? », 11 février 2020

Niveau juridique : Union européenne

Le Panel STOA (Panel fot the Future of Science and Technology), comité de députés du Parlement européen qui analyse des problématiques liées aux sciences et au technologies, a publié une note intitulée « What if crop protection were environment friendly ? » (Et si la protection des cultures était respectueuse de l’environnement ?). Il y présente alternatives pour réduire l’utilisation des pesticides, en protégeant la santé des plantes et boostant les rendements. L’utilisation des nouvelles techniques OGM, comme CRISPER-Cas9, est présentée comme un moyen de réduire l’usage des pesticides en créant des cultivars résistants à des ravageurs ou maladies. Le panel annonce une prochaine étude sur l’avenir de la protection des cultures.

Extraits :

« Another approach to decreasing PPP use is the breeding of resistant cultivars. Many (often wild) crop varieties are resistant to specific pests and diseases. Although not prioritised in the past, these resistance genes are becoming as important today as a propensity for high yield. It is suggested that high-precision gene editing enabled by CRISPR-Cas9 could make the process very efficient. Alternatively, genetic material from other species, such as micro-organisms, could be introduced to crops. However, issues around genetic manipulation remain the subject of intense discussion and some controversy. (…)

With regard to products and approaches involving genetic manipulation, according to a recent Court of Justice of the EUjudgment, organisms obtained by new breeding techniques, even if they do not involve the insertion of foreign DNA, fall under EU GMO legislation. More clarity as to how novel genomic techniques are to be legally classified and regulated in the future is expected in 2021. »

Lien vers la note 641529_EN.pdf) ici