Genome-edited crops are on the verge of being placed on the market and their agricultural and food products will thus be internationally traded soon. National regulations, however, diverge regarding the classification of genome-edited crops. Major countries such as the US and Brazil do not specifically regulate genome-edited crops, while in the European Union, they fall under GMO legislation, according to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). As it is in some cases impossible to analytically distinguish between products from genome-edited plants and those from non-genome-edited plants, EU importers may fear the risk of violating EU legislation. They may choose not to import any agricultural and food products based on crops for which genome-edited varieties are available. Therefore, crop products of which the EU is currently a net importer would become more expensive in the EU, and production would intensify. Furthermore, an intense substitution of products covered and not covered by genome editing would occur in consumption, production, and trade. We analyzed the effects of such a cease of EU imports for cereals and soy in the EU agricultural sector with the comparative static agricultural sector equilibrium model CAPRI. Our results indicate dramatic effects on agricultural and food prices as well as on farm income. The intensification of EU agriculture may result in negative net environmental effects in the EU as well as in an increase in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This suggests that trade effects should be considered when developing domestic regulation for genome-edited crops. ; Peer Reviewed
Genome-edited crops are on the verge of being placed on the market and their agricultural and food products will thus be internationally traded soon. National regulations, however, diverge regarding the classification of genome-edited crops. Major countries such as the US and Brazil do not specifically regulate genome-edited crops, while in the European Union, they fall under GMO legislation, according to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). As it is in some cases impossible to analytically distinguish between products from genome-edited plants and those from non-genome-edited plants, EU importers may fear the risk of violating EU legislation. They may choose not to import any agricultural and food products based on crops for which genome-edited varieties are available. Therefore, crop products of which the EU is currently a net importer would become more expensive in the EU, and production would intensify. Furthermore, an intense substitution of products covered and not covered by genome editing would occur in consumption, production, and trade. We analyzed the effects of such a cease of EU imports for cereals and soy in the EU agricultural sector with the comparative static agricultural sector equilibrium model CAPRI. Our results indicate dramatic effects on agricultural and food prices as well as on farm income. The intensification of EU agriculture may result in negative net environmental effects in the EU as well as in an increase in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This suggests that trade effects should be considered when developing domestic regulation for genome-edited crops.
Zahlreiche genom-editierte Kulturpflanzen stehen kurz vor ihrer Marktreife und werden daher bald ihren Weg in den internationalen Agrarhandel finden. Gegenwärtig gibt es jedoch große Unterschiede in der rechtlichen Einstufung dieser Produkte. Während beispielsweise in den USA und Brasilien genom-editierte Pflanzen keiner speziellen Regulierung unterliegen, werden sie in der EU nach dem EuGH-Urteil als gentechnisch veränderte Organismen angesehen und fallen daher unter die GVO-Regulierung. Da eine entsprechende analytische Unterscheidung von genom-editierten und konventionell gezüchteten Pflanzen unter Umständen nicht möglich ist, laufen Importeure Gefahr, nicht zugelassene Produkte in die EU einzuführen. Dies könnte dazu führen, dass die Einfuhr von bestimmten landwirtschaftlichen Produkten aus Ländern zum Erliegen kommt, in denen genom-editierte Pflanzen angebaut werden. Dies hätte einen Preisanstieg für diejenigen Produkte, für welche die EU Nettoimporteur ist, zur Folge. Auch würde der Anbau in der EU selbst intensiviert werden. Zudem käme es bei Produktion, Verbrauch und Handel zu Substitutionseffekten zwischen genom-editierten und konventionell gezüchteten Produkten. Mittels des komparativ-statischen Gleichgewichtsmodells CAPRI analysieren wir die Auswirkungen eines derartigen Aussetzens der EU-Agrarimporte auf den europäischen Agrarsektor am Beispiel von Soja und Getreide. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen starke Auswirkungen auf die Preise für landwirtschaftliche Produkte und Lebensmittel sowie auf das Betriebseinkommen. Die Intensivierung der europäischen Agrarproduktion kann darüber hinaus zu negativen Umwelteffekten führen und einem globalen Anstieg der Treibhausgasemissionen. Dies legt den Schluss nahe, dass auch Handelseffekte bei der Ausgestaltung nationaler Regelungen im Umgang mit genom-editierten Pflanzen Berücksichtigung finden sollten. ; Genome edited crops are on the verge of being placed on the market and their agricultural and food products will thus be internationally traded soon. National regulation, however, diverges regarding the classification of genome edited crops. Major countries such as the US and Brazil do not specifically regulate genome edited crops, while in the European Union they fall under GMO legislation, according to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). As it is in some cases impossible to analytically distinguish products from genome edited plants compared to non-genome edited plants, EU importers may fear the risk of violating EU legislation. They may choose to not import anymore agricultural and food products based on crops, for which genome edited varieties are available. As a consequence, crop products, for which the EU is currently a net importer, would become more expensive in the EU and production would intensify. Furthermore, strong substitu-tion among products covered and not covered by genome editing would occur in consumption, production and trade. We analyse the effects of such a cease of EU imports for cereals and soy on the EU agricultural sector with the comparative static agricultural sector equilibrium model CA-PRI. Our results indicate that effects on agricultural and food prices as well as farm income are strong, and the intensification of EU agriculture may result in negative net environmental effects in the EU as well as increases in global greenhouse gas emissions. This suggests that the trade effects should be taken into account when developing domestic regulation for genome edited crops.
Genome edited crops are on the verge of being placed on the market and their agricultural and food products will thus be internationally traded soon. National regulation, however, diverges regarding the classification of genome edited crops. Major countries such as the US and Brazil do not specifically regulate genome edited crops, while in the European Union they fall under GMO legislation, according to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). As it is in some cases impossible to analytically distinguish products from genome edited plants compared to non-genome edited plants, EU importers may fear the risk of violating EU legislation. They may choose to not import anymore agricultural and food products based on crops, for which genome edited varieties are available. As a consequence, crop products, for which the EU is currently a net importer, would become more expensive in the EU and production would intensify. Furthermore, strong substitu-tion among products covered and not covered by genome editing would occur in consumption, production and trade. We analyse the effects of such a cease of EU imports for cereals and soy on the EU agricultural sector with the comparative static agricultural sector equilibrium model CA-PRI. Our results indicate that effects on agricultural and food prices as well as farm income are strong, and the intensification of EU agriculture may result in negative net environmental effects in the EU as well as increases in global greenhouse gas emissions. This suggests that the trade effects should be taken into account when developing domestic regulation for genome edited crops. ; Zahlreiche genom-editierte Kulturpflanzen stehen kurz vor ihrer Marktreife und werden daher bald ihren Weg in den internationalen Agrarhandel finden. Gegenwärtig gibt es jedoch große Unterschiede in der rechtlichen Einstufung dieser Produkte. Während beispielsweise in den USA und Brasilien genom-editierte Pflanzen keiner speziellen Regulierung unterliegen, werden sie in der EU nach dem EuGH-Urteil als gentechnisch veränderte Organismen angesehen und fallen daher unter die GVO-Regulierung. Da eine entsprechende analytische Unterscheidung von genom-editierten und konventionell gezüchteten Pflanzen unter Umständen nicht möglich ist, laufen Importeure Gefahr, nicht zugelassene Produkte in die EU einzuführen. Dies könnte dazu führen, dass die Einfuhr von bestimmten landwirtschaftlichen Produkten aus Ländern zum Erliegen kommt, in denen genom-editierte Pflanzen angebaut werden. Dies hätte einen Preisanstieg für diejenigen Produkte, für welche die EU Nettoimporteur ist, zur Folge. Auch würde der Anbau in der EU selbst intensiviert werden. Zudem käme es bei Produktion, Verbrauch und Handel zu Substitutionseffekten zwischen genom-editierten und konventionell gezüchteten Produkten. Mittels des komparativ-statischen Gleichgewichtsmodells CAPRI analysieren wir die Auswirkungen eins derartigen Aussetzens der EU-Agrarimporte auf den europäischen Agrarsektor am Beispiel von Soja und Getreide. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen starke Auswirkungen auf die Preise für landwirtschaftliche Produkte und Lebensmittel sowie auf das Betriebseinkommen. Die Intensivierung der europäischen Agrarproduktion kann darüber hinaus zu negativen Umwelteffekten führen und einem globalen Anstieg der Treibhausgasemissionen. Dies legt den Schluss nahe, dass auch Handelseffekte bei der Ausgestaltung nationaler Regelungen im Umgang mit genom-editierten Pflan-zen Berücksichtigung finden sollten.
