Press Release: Agriculture, regulation: Freedom of choice through coexistence

Crop coexistence has become an accepted tool for placing the choice of what kind of food to grow and consume firmly in the hands of farmers and consumers. This raises the question of whether coexistence regimens should be imposed at EU, national or regional levels? A European Commission report and stakeholder conference explored the issue, April 2006. The report suggested that the development of EU-wide legislation on the coexistence of different crops – conventional, organic and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) – was currently unjustified owing to the divergent conditions in different Member States.