Today in an official government statement, Italy officially banned the growing of any crops with GMOs (genetically modified organisms).

A rule was released in March from the EU (European Union) that allows countries to decide if they want to be part of the GMO cultivation, according to Yahoo News. The EU rule also allows new GMO crops to be grown after being in lockdown for many years.

GMOs are organisms that have had their genome altered by genetic engineering. This means that the DNA of thr organism will have one or more genes that are not normally found in it. Currently, there are eight variations of GMOs that have been permitted by the EU to grow, according to Sustainable Pulse.

A statement was given to the commission, stating, "request to exclude cultivation of all the GMOs authorized at an EU level from all of Italian territory," said the minister of Italy's Agriculture, Environment, and Health, Maurizio Martina, according to the Tranceponder.

Italy isn't the first country to decide to not participate in GMO crops - Austria, Bulgaria, and Germany have joined the efforts