8 in 10 people in the UK want to see all genetically modified organisms (GMOs) labelled and traceable through the farming and food chain.

In May 2025 the introduction of new Regulations, under the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act, removed a long-standing requirement for labelling – and for full traceability – from some genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The Regulations create a new category of GMOs, called “precision bred organisms” (PBOs), and exempt these from the food and environmental safety requirements of other types of GMOs.

Why this matters

Our food system shapes our environment, and we can’t protect either without
transparent and truthful information that allows us to make informed choices and
take informed actions.

While the Regulations apply only to England, the government believes that through the Internal Market Act it can force genetically modified PBOs on other UK nations. 

The new regulations, therefore, have significant implications for food sovereignty, environmental protection, consumer choice and democratic accountability in the UK, including: 

• Consumers have lost the right to know and make choices about genetically modified PBOs in their food.
• Organic and biodynamic farmers and food producers still have a legal obligation to avoid contamination with all GMOs, including PBOs. The new Regulations take away the necessary tools and processes to ensure the integrity of organic and to avoid loss of consumer confidence and trade.
• Artisanal, traditional, natural and geographical indication farmers and food producers will also find it difficult and expensive (if not impracticable) to avoid contamination, risking the integrity of their brands and potential loss of income as well.
• The environment is at risk since all GMOs can interact with wild and fragile ecosystems in unpredictable ways. They can multiply, persist and quickly become dominant.
• Devolved nations Scotland and Wales have explicitly said they don’t want to grow or sell GMOs and yet the Westminster government intends to force unlabelled precision bred GMOs into their markets.

We are taking legal action

Over the last 5 years, Beyond GM has exhausted every good faith avenue of negotiation with the government. Its intransigence and unwillingness to listen to
legitimate concerns have brought us to this point. 

On 16 June 2025 we sent a pre-action letter to the government giving notice of our intention to pursue a judicial review.

Our legal team has identified serious potential illegalities in these new Regulations, including breaches of the Human Rights Act, the Aarhus Convention and the Habitats Directive. They have also identified areas of overreach where the Regulations go beyond what Parliament has authorised, for instance, preventing any safety testing that could reveal problems with these organisms.

We aren’t going it alone. We’re working alongside others want to protect their right to know and who want to ensure that novel genetically modified organisms are visible and traceable in the food system and the wider environment.

This action isn’t just about the dry technicalities of regulation. It’s about whether we will have a food system that serves people and planet, or one that prioritises corporate convenience. It’s about the kind of future we want for our food, our farms and our families.

Read more about our legal challenge

What do we want to achieve?

Multiple government agencies have criticised the Genetic Technology Act and the new Regulations as vague, misleading, unworkable and ultimately “not fit for purpose”. Concern has been raised that the new legislation benefits only the GMO industry.

We are not seeking to ‘ban’ GMOs – indeed they have never been ‘banned’ in the UK. But, where the use of novel and largely untested technologies in food and the environment is concerned, we believe in precaution, transparency and truth.

We are therefore demanding that the government fulfils the reasonable expectation of UK consumers, farmers and food businesses that these novel organisms are subject to rigorous environmental and safety assessments and meaningful public consultation and are clearly labelled and fully traceable ‘from field to fork’.

We believe these new Regulations should be revoked before they become operational in November 2025, that a full impact assessment should be performed and that a new, more robust and inclusive process should be put in place to rewrite them in a way that is responsive to the needs of citizens and the natural world.

There’s more you can do

You can help us build momentum in other ways too:

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