Submission to the European Commission Biotech Act Consultation
This document outlines AMI’s response to the EU Biotech Act consultation’s proposed amendments to the EU Directive on the Deliberate Release into the Environment of Genetically Modified Microorganisms. Responses spanned a broad spectrum, from conditional support for the policy—subject to the incorporation of the risks, considerations, and mitigation measures discussed below into its development—to serious concern regarding the continued proliferation of novel entities in the environment. Nevertheless, there was consensus that microbes, and consequently genetically modified microorganisms (GMMs), should not be considered in isolation. Rather, their functions within, and the potential impacts of GMMs on, the microbiome—the complex communities of microorganisms that inhabit environments ranging from the human gut to the world's oceans and soils—must be central to policy considerations.
Contributors
- Prof. Diane Purchase, Middlesex University, London, UK
- Dr Roy Kimotho, Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of California, USA
- Dr Modupe Stella Ayilara, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Mahikeng, South Africa
- Dr Bahaa Abdella, Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, Kafrelsheikh University, Egypt
- Dr Durgesh Kumar Jaiswal, Assistant Professor (Research), Department of Biosciences, Graphic Era (Deemed to be University), Uttarakhand, India
- Dr Bruno Silvester Lopes, School of Health & Life Sciences, Teesside University, UK
- Dr Eduardo Acosta, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Global Change Limnology Group, Limnological Station Iffeldorf, Germany
- Prof. Olubukola Oluranti Babalola, Soil-Plant Microbe Interaction, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
- Joanne Matthews, Australia
This response was collated and drafted by AMI's policy team, Daisy Neale and Irene Lavergne.