17-05-2018 10:00
Use of New Breeding Techniques

Building József Antall, room JAN 4Q1, European Parliament, Brussels
Experiment Veal Cultivated Field
New breeding techniques © Image used under the license from Shutterstock.com

A hearing on New Breeding Techniques (NBTs) was organised in association with the ENVI committee. It is widely accepted that new crop varieties need to be developed to meet challenges such as climate change and the spread of plant diseases and an increasing number of plant breeding companies are already actively using NBTs. However some legal uncertainties have persisted in this field.

Members heard from experts including Niels Louwaars, Director of Plantum, the Seed Association in the Netherlands, Julien Mante, engineer at "France Limousin Sélection" and responsible for R&D at "Pole de Lanaud", Yves Bertheau, INRA Research Director, Arend Streng, Patent Specialist at "Rijk Zwaan Zaadteelt en Zaadhandel B.V.", Detlef Bartsch, Head of Department - Genetic Engineering at the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety and Sophia Lakhdar, Chairwoman, Bio Consom'acteurs.