A petition has been launched demanding a better legal framework from the EU on new plant-breeding techniques.
It urges the bloc to focus on 'sustainability, safety and responsible innovation' when it comes to new techniques such as gene editing.
Currently, the EU regulatory system results in an implicit ban of new plant breeding techniques.
However, plant breeders have said such techniques are 'valuable tools' for breeding more resilient crops, with less resources and in less time.
They say it is a 'much-needed advancement' in times of climate change and prospected food insecurity.
The petition, launched by Grow Scientific Progress (GSP), aims to collect one million signatures from citizens throughout the EU.
The group has submitted a detailed proposal to the European Commission in the form of a European Citizens' Initiative.
In this proposal, it outlines changes to the current law that take into account advancements in plant breeding techniques.
Most importantly, GSP proposes to focus on the crop rather than the technique.
The group says that in this way safety is ensured while the benefits of new techniques are not lost to 'illogical regulatory hurdles'.
“With your support, we will demand an update of the legislation to foster responsible innovation, sustainability and safety for us and the next generations,” the group says.
