The British government plans to ease the restrictions on gene editing in order to speed up research and allow genetically modified crops and stocks to reach the market * In any case, these are changes that could have been made in other ways, but at a much greater speed
[Translation by Dr. Moshe Nachmani]
Current regulations, originating in the European Union, restrict the use of all genetically modified products and all genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This means that any minor editing, for example deleting genes or replacing a single base pair that is done in the genome of an organism is legally considered the same as the introduction of foreign DNA from other creatures into these organisms. Many researchers argue that this practice fails to take into account scientific progress and hinders the development of crops with desirable traits such as disease resistance and drought tolerance.
Following a public consultation earlier this year, the UK government now intends to amend the regulatory definitions of 'genetically modified organisms' (GMOs) to exclude organisms created by gene editing that "could have been produced by normal breeding methods". The heads of the Ministry of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have announced that they intend to reduce the restrictions on research and development of genetically modified plants by the end of this year. The ministry claims that its approach "aligns with international developments and those of the European Union" after the long-ago publication of a report on behalf of the European Commission that concluded that the current legislation regarding organisms that have undergone gene editing is not in line with its purpose.
"Gene editing technologies provide a more precise means of introducing targeted genetic changes - while creating the same types of changes to plants and crops that would have occurred in any case in nature at a slower pace or through traditional breeding," said the chief scientist of the ministry. "These tools allow us to harness the wealth of changes in nature in order to produce a better crop, while speeding up the ancient process that humans have used for hundreds of years to improve. These tools are intriguing opportunities to improve the environment, while producing new products that will be healthier for the diet and more resistant to climate change."
The official announcement received a positive response from members of the scientific community. "We very much welcome this important announcement that the regulation of crops that have undergone gene editing as part of research and development will be based on an appropriate infrastructure based on scientific evidence," said one of the researchers.
The scientific secretary of the Royal Society said that this is a welcome opportunity as part of which the government is trying to upgrade the laws that govern gene editing methods. However, it warns against the regulation of genetic technologies "on the basis of the question of whether the product could have been created by using traditional breeding technologies, or not", while noting that this result "perpetuates the erroneous assessment that risk and benefit are determined by the technology used for genetic modification of the crop". "While the government is moving towards a broader legislative reform of the regulatory system, the Royal Society would like to see active considerations within a system that considers the consequences of genetic modification - before the technology used," she added and said.
