The history of GM crops in Italy

During the past decades, Italy has adopted divergent approaches to using biotechnologies in plant breeding and agriculture. The governments’ policies have ranged from initial endorsement and support to a state of relative paralysis and is currently swinging back to support New Genetic Technologie (NGTs). Pressure from Italian scientists and several lawsuits filed in the Court of Justice of the European Union by an Italian farmer have prompted the government’s re-evaluation of EU policies on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). These events and legal precedents may not provide an indication of future trends regarding the use of biotechnology in agriculture in the EU, but could inspire a renewed sense of collaboration among scientists, legislators, and agricultural entrepreneurs.