Italy leads fight against GMOs
On 20th March Acqui Terme became the latest and largest city in Italy to take the bold stand of declaring its territory free from GMOs – “old and new ones”. It follows Verbicaro, San Ferdinando, Decollatura, and Poppi in Toscany, which spearheaded the initiative in November 2024.
Photo credit: Biodiversità Contadina
These declarations add to the long list of “GM-free” territories that emerged across Europe in the 2000s. However, this marks a significant move: for the first time, public authorities have explicitly included newer gene editing techniques (known in Italy as TEA, or Assisted Evolution Techniques) in their prohibition.
The texts forbid the growing of GM crops for research or commercial purposes and the rearing of animals produced using those techniques. Beyond agriculture, the measures go further by requiring school canteens to exclude foods containing GMOs and mandating that the area be marked with signs to raise public awareness.
This new wave of declarations follows a campaign launched in October 2024 by the Associazione Rurale Italiana (ARI) and the NGO Crocevia. The same NGO played a key role in the 2000s, helping to establish 500 GM-free municipalities across Italy, including major cities like Rome, Milan, and Turin. At its peak, nearly 80% of Italian territory was declared GM-free.
ARI and Crocevia, along with the Associazione di Base dei Consumatori (Consumer Base Organisation, A.Ba.Co.). have also launched a legal challenge against open air field trials of new GMOs in Italy. The appeal aims to have authorisations annulled for trials of GMO grapevines and tomatoes. The civil society groups argue that a failure to conduct risk assessments is a violation of the precautionary principle, and that a lack of public consultation violates a European Directive.
The question now is whether these recent declarations and the legal challenge mark the start of a renewed movement. Could this be the beginning of a wider effort to push back against both old and new forms of GMOs in Italy—and maybe even beyond?
Giulia Kessous is a Master’s graduate in Law and Ecology and Member of Emergent Generation.
Map showing Italian towns that have declared themselves free of new GMOs. Image credit: Centro Internazionale Crocevia
