Dive Brief:
- The European Parliament passed legislation that allows individual countries to opt out of the cultivation of genetically modified crops.
- In addition to making it easier for countries that oppose GMOs to ban them, the legislation also eases the approval process for pro-GMO countries to grow crops using genetically modified seeds.
- The agreement, informally decided upon in December, was tabled in 2010 and then lost in a gridlock battle between pro- and anti-GMO countries in the EU for four years.
Dive Insight:
Because genetically modified foods have been a hot-button and divisive issue in the EU, it takes longer to gain the EU approval needed to grow these crops. The U.S. and other trade partners are frustrated by the lengthy process as they attempt to expand the market for bio-tech seeds across the world - an industry valued at almost $16 billion in 2013.