UK set to approve gene-edited livestock and crops in major post-Brexit break with EU policy – iNews

Ministers are set to give the go-ahead to the use of gene editing in agriculture which could see altered produce on the supermarket shelves in five years time, i can reveal.

The Government is expected to issue its response to its own consultation on the technology at the end of the month that will give the green light to the cautious exploration of genetic engineering in farming.

The move will mark the biggest divergence by the UK away from existing European laws since leaving the EU, which has banned the technique for years amid fears it is unsafe.

Brexit minister Lord Frost announced yesterday the Governments intention to repeal EU laws governing the use of genetic editing in the UK as part of a statement on Brexit opportunities in the coming years.

He told peers that Environment Secretary George Eustice would shortly set out plans to reform the regulation of gene edited organisms.

The lifting of the ban would enable more sustainable and efficient farming and help produce healthier and more nutritious food, he added.

Gene editing involves the technique of replacing genes that govern certain traits, such as water dependency, disease resistance and nutrition with better-functioning ones from the same species.

It has the potential to make crops much more nutritious and resistant to storms or pests and to considerably boost the resilience and yields of livestock, advocates say.

The NFU believes gene-edited produce could be on shop shelves within five years. Outdoor trials have been launched to grow GE wheat that knocks out acrylamide, a carcinogen that occurs when bread is toasted. It is being grown in a controlled environment in Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire.

The technology may also allow farmers to reduce their dependence on antibiotics in dairy cattle, which can be passed on to humans.

A consultation launched by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs back in January came to a close in March, but the governments response is only due at the end of this month.

In an interview with i in March, Defra chief scientific advisor Professor Gideon Henderson said: There is a mindset that we would like to change the law on this that tendency to go ahead is there. And everything I have heard so far from diverse stakeholder groups taking in the breadth of the views suggests that there is pretty general support for it.

The decision to lift the ban on gene-editing, which is different to genetically modifying, has been criticised by animal rights groups on the grounds of animal welfare concerns.

A Defra spokesperson said: Gene editing has the ability to harness the genetic resources that mother nature has provided, such as breeding crops that perform better, benefitting farmers and reducing impacts on the environment.

Now that we have left the EU, we have the opportunity to make coherent policy decisions on gene editing based on current science and evidence. We are committed to proportionate, science-based regulation that protects people, animals and the environment and that begins with this consultation.

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UK set to approve gene-edited livestock and crops in major post-Brexit break with EU policy - iNews