It was an intense and exhausting two-day hearing at the High Court – but we have learned so much. 

The proceedings were very technical, with barristers and judge moving constantly between multiple computer screens, paper evidence bundles, legal authorities and witness materials as they worked through the issues in real time.

At the same time, the hearing exposed – in a way that pre-trial exchanges often don’t – just how fragile and contradictory the government’s position is.

We are grateful to all who came to support us. The court was packed on both days, with members of the public and representatives from civil society, science, academia and the legal community behind us in the gallery. It was the first time the public had a chance to hear the government’s arguments and evidence, some of which were subject to confidentiality restrictions before the hearing.

The government’s barristers conceded that PBOs are scientifically genetically modified organisms, while arguing they should not be regulated as GMOs.

They argued that PBOs are safe and equivalent to conventional crops, while also acknowledging unique environmental risks that require monitoring and robust coexistence measures.

They suggested that if people wanted to avoid GMOs they could just eat organic, while defending the removal of real-world traceability tools that allow organic farmers and food businesses to remain PBO-free.

They argued that Environment Minister Daniel Zeichner, who signed the Regulations into law but is no longer in post, was well-informed about the Regulations, while also indicating he had been misled by some of the ministerial briefings on which he relied.

They also argued that regulators had to move quickly to get the regulations through to realise the economic benefits of a “first mover advantage” in agricultural biotechnology, while conceding that key parts of the system are not operational or are misaligned, and no marketable PBO products currently exist.

Each of these contradictions represents a crack in the government’s position where the light can get through. 

During both the pre-trial negotiations and the hearing itself, it became clear to us that pressure from our judicial review – which stands up for the rights of the organic and non-GMO sectors, farmers, food businesses and the wider public – has forced movement on issues such as mandatory labelling of PBO seeds and the need to affirm PBO status on the National Variety List (the official list of plant varieties that can be placed on the market).

These are issues that the government would have preferred to leave on the back burner, but that is no longer an option.

We are not there yet. No operational PBO seed labelling system currently exists (and seed labelling alone is not enough). Significant questions also remain about the implementation, scope and timing of these changes. But the arguments put forward suggest the government’s position – that transparency and traceability matter for some GMOs, but not for others – is increasingly untenable.

Throughout the hearing, our brilliant barristers presented a careful, detailed and thoughtful case. The judge asked searching questions of both sides and engaged seriously with the issues before the court. We now await his decision.

Whatever the outcome, this case has already changed the conversation. Consumer choice, organic identity and integrity, traceability, democratic oversight, environmental risk and the future direction of our food system – issues that are too often pushed to the margins or written off as technical minutiae – are being vigorously debated.

Thank you for helping to get us this far. There’s more to come and – depending on the judgement, more decisions to be made about how we move forward. We still need your support and donations to meet our funding goal and see the case through and will keep you updated as soon as we hear more.

We’ve now completed the second evidence stage of our judicial review. We’ve submitted additional witness statements and supporting material – over 800 pages in total – responding further to the Government’s case. It’s a substantial body of evidence, reflecting both the depth and breadth of concern around these regulations.

The process now shifts to the legal teams and the Court, who will decide which parts of this evidence are admitted and form part of the final case to be argued at the hearing.

In the meantime, the Government is continuing to issue ‘release notices’ – which allow experimental trials of gene-edited precision bred organisms (PBOs) in England – as well as marketing notices, which confirm PBO status in preparation for their sale. We’ve made these easy to find (and, unlike the government website, searchable) in our PBO field trial tracker and in our new PBO food and feed tracker. We expect to see more of these ahead of the hearing.

We’ve also seen reports of public investment in new industrial (rather than agricultural) uses for PBO plants. These also fall within the new regulations. One example is a £2.4 million grant for researchers to develop gene-edited dandelions as a domestic source of rubber. This is an absurd notion, and one that aligns closely with the concerns raised in our Turbo Charging Nature? report. We’ve published a short addendum on this development, which you can read here.

We’ve also released new reports looking at what comes next for gene editing in the UK, including micro-organisms and farm animals. It’s not happy reading, but forewarned is forearmed.

Our hearing on 12-13 May has had some coverage in the press. Check out articles in the Riverford Organic magazine Wicked Leeks, at Farming UK and in The Grocer magazine, each picking up different aspects of the case. You can also read the Leigh Day press release here.

The hearing will be open to the public. If you are in London and would like to attend for all or part of it, you are welcome. The proceedings are formal and the advocacy is technical, but there is something powerful about simply bearing witness. We may not have the courtroom number until closer to the date (it will be posted here, under the London Administrative Court option), but we’ll share details as soon as we have them.

Finally, we continue to fundraise to support the legal fees for the case. If you can contribute – for the first time, or again – we would be very grateful. And please do share our appeal with friends, family and your wider community.

Thank you for standing with us.

We have some important news to share.

The High Court has now confirmed that our challenge to the Government’s deregulation of genetically modified 'precision bred' organisms in food and farming will be heard at a rolled-up hearing over 12-13 May. This means the Court will consider, in one hearing, both whether the case should proceed and the substance of the legal arguments themselves.

This is a significant step. It means the Court considers our case serious, arguable and worthy of full consideration.

The Court has also made two important procedural decisions. First, it has agreed that this is an environmental case under the Aarhus Convention, so our cost caps have been agreed, which limits our exposure to the Government’s legal costs if we lose. This is an essential safeguard for public-interest cases like ours. Second, it has mandated that the case will be heard by a senior judge, reflecting the complexity and wider importance of the issues raised.

We are asking the Court to examine whether the Government lawfully removed transparency, public participation, traceability and safeguards for the environmental release and marketing of genetically modified “precision bred” organisms — and whether it can rely on assumptions and non-statutory guidance where Parliament expected proper regulation.

As everyone who has joined together to support this case so far knows, this hearing matters not just for farming and food, but for how emerging genetic technologies are regulated more generally – now and in the future.

While reaching this stage is good news, it also means we now have a lot of detailed work to do before May. That work is already underway.

If you’ve supported us already, thank you! Your support is what has brought us this far. If you can give again, and/or share the campaign with others who can contribute, you will be helping ensure that the Court hears this case fully and fairly.

This is a rare opportunity to test whether deregulation without transparency or consent is lawful. With your help, we can see it through.

We want to share an important development – and to explain why our fight goes well beyond questions of food safety or agriculture and strikes at the heart of preserving fragile ecosystems and environmental integrity.

Our recent X thread highlighted that the unregulated release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is not just a matter of what ends up on our plates. It's a matter of what ends up in our rivers, woodlands, pollinator populations and soil microbiomes. These ecosystems are already under strain from climate change, habitat loss, pollution and invasive species. GMOs, especially when released without stringent oversight, introduce risks that are poorly understood and potentially irreversible.

UK scientists have recently announced they are developing a “superfood” supplement for honeybees made from genetically modified yeast. On paper, this is meant to improve honeybee health and boost reproduction. This supplement, say the scientists, would allow bees to continue to produce valuable honey without the need for flowers as a food source. 

Honeybee diets are naturally diverse, while these genetically engineered supplements focus only on a few key nutrients aimed at improving productivity. In a very real sense, these GMO supplements could indirectly ‘re-engineer’ the bees’ gut flora (microbiome). Indeed, scientists are currently experimenting with directly re-engineering the gut bacteria of honeybees to improve their immunity and resistance to pathogens. 

Because bees constantly exchange microbes with flowers, this could also alter the microbiomes of wild plants and other bees, reshaping pollinator–plant interactions across whole landscapes. In other words, what begins as a lab experiment for commercially managed honeybees could ripple outward into every meadow, hedgerow and woodland that depends on pollination.

And honeybees are just the start. In the name of 'conservation', biotech developers in the UK and elsewhere are also proposing the release of genetically engineered trees, grasses, squirrels, frogs and even seaweeds and corals. Each of these organisms belongs to a unique and fragile ecosystem and the introduction of engineered genes could have cascading effects that we cannot predict or control. 

Under current UK law, the Genetic Technology Act 2023 and its secondary regulations extend to environmental releases, human food and animal feed. There are no requirements for environmental risk assessments, labelling or monitoring before the environmental release of genetically modified precision-bred organisms. In short, our government has opened the door to the deliberate or accidental release of GMOs into the wild without safeguards.

Meanwhile, as we highlight in another X thread, in the government’s recently released Good Food Cycle plan for healthy and sustainable food, 7 of the 10 priority outcomes depend on genetic modification (“precision breeding”) to be achieved. 

We are fighting for robust regulatory oversight, stricter environmental impact assessments, transparency and legal precedents that ensure ecosystem preservation and that the interests and opinions of the public are at the core of decisions about GMO releases.

Every donation, large or small, brings us closer to our goal. Your support isn’t just protecting what we eat – it’s protecting what we share: water, soil, air, wild species, pollinators and landscapes.

Change begins with awareness. If this matters to you, please consider donating to our case or sharing our campaign with others who also feel strongly about these issues. 

We've just taken a massive step forward in our legal challenge to stop the UK Government's reckless deregulation of genetically modified plants in food, farming and the wider environment.

Our CrowdJustice supporters have enabled us to file our complete legal case with the High Court – a comprehensive 778-page evidence bundle that brings together the scientific, legal and policy arguments the Government has ignored. This substantial filing represents months of meticulous legal work by our expert team at Leigh Day and Matrix Chambers.

With this filing we’ve entered the crucial permission stage of judicial review where a judge will examine our evidence and decide whether our case merits a full hearing. 

Our legal challenge tackles the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Regulations 2025, which create a new category of unregulated GMOs called 'precision bred organisms' (PBOs). Your support is helping us push back against regulations that:

• Require no independent safety testing or environmental assessment
• Remove consumers' right to know what's in their food through mandatory labelling
• Strip away environmental protections and public participation rights
• Threaten organic farming and trade, especially exports to the EU
• Ignore impacts on protected habitats and wildlife

Every donation shows the Court and the government that this case isn't just about a legal technicality. It represents everyone who believes passionately in food transparency, environmental protection and democratic accountability. 

While we've reached this critical milestone, the fight continues. Our next funding goal is £85,000 to see this case through to completion. 

If you can donate, please do. You can also join the thousands of justice seekers who have signed our petition to regulate and label all GMOs – and look out for @Beyond_GM on X and @beyond-gm.bsky.social on Bluesky.

Thank you for standing with us!

A Judicial Review is a big undertaking. We have been so grateful for your donations, which have helped us reach our first funding target of £38,575 before the deadline.

But we are also grateful for all your amazing words of encouragement. It reminds us that we are not alone, that citizens throughout the UK care deeply about food integrity, environmental protection and democratic accountability and that this fight is for all of us!

We are heading for our next funding target now, so please stay with us and spread the word. We are posting some of your comments @Beyond_GM on X and @beyond-gm.bsky.social on Bluesky.

If you'd like to receive updates directly into your mailbox, sign up on the Stop Hidden GMOs website – and check out all the other ways you can support us, like joining the 7000+ who've signed our petition.