U.K. Pushes Ahead With Move to Allow Gene Editing for Crops
- Method may help make crops more productive; differs from GMO
- Existing GMO rules apply for products authorized for market
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The U.K. laid out plans to push ahead with potentially allowing gene editing in farming to grow more productive crops, as part of an overhaul of agricultural policy following Brexit.
Gene editing can help develop crops that are more productive and beneficial to the environment, and leaving the European Union allows the country to “adopt a more scientific and proportionate approach” to regulations, the government said. The technique differs from conventional genetic modification in that it doesn’t introduce foreign DNA into organisms.