Viewpoint: Why organic farming activists oppose New Breeding Techniques (NBTs)

David Zaruk | Genetic Literacy Project | May 7, 2018

There was a brief moment in 2015 where organic farming researchers were having an open discussion on adopting certain innovative plant breeding techniques (commonly referred to as NPBTs or NBTs). Then, just as fast, the radical end of the organic lobby (from International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) to the Organic Consumers Association (OCA)) shut down the discussion with an emphatic rejection, calling them: “GMOs through the backdoor”.

With the label “New GM” or “GMO 2.0”, the activists (intentionally) failed to understand how the new technologies worked. Certain plant breeding techniques like CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, cisgenesis or site-specific mutagenesis are not necessarily adding any foreign DNA into the organism. This blanket activist rejection was a monumental misstep, dealing perhaps a fatal blow to the hopes that organic farmers would ever be able to compete with conventional agriculture.

Why on earth did they shoot their farmers in the foot?.........To Read More.....