Nobel Laureates and Scientists Release Open Letter for MEPs on NGTs

Nobel laureate and CRISPR innovator Jennifer Doudna, other Nobel Prize winners, and over a thousand scientists are rallying for the benefits of new genomic techniques (NGs) to the EU and the world. They released an open letter addressed to the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in light of the upcoming parliamentary decisions regarding the regulation of NGTs in Europe.

In the letter published on We Planet, the laureates and scientists pointed out that NGTs offer faster and more precise solutions to urgent problems such as pests and diseases and climate crisis.

“NGTs can dramatically improve this situation. NGTs help to make crop plants resilient to disease by precise and targeted edits to their genetic code, thus making our ambitious and vital goals of pesticide reduction possible while still protecting farmers' yields. It comes as no surprise, then, that as a result, many of Europe's hard-working farmers - including a growing number of organic producers - are enthusiastic supporters of NGTs,” the laureates and scientists mentioned in the letter.

The experts called for consideration of science-based evidence on NGTs in making the decision. They said supporting the technology will position the EU as a global leader in responsible and evidence-based policymaking.

Read the open letter for more details.