Gene editing regulations spliced
[ad_1]
Although the initial plans relate only to England, it is by no means certain that they will not, eventually, be adopted by some or all devolved nations, which for now remain opposed to genome editing.
Scotland, for example, is said to be aligning with EU principles on the regulation of gene editing. But with European regulators currently eyeing a four-year horizon for the deregulation of gene editing, it is not inconceivable that the Scottish government could, in the future, change – or be forced by circumstances to change – its approach.
Defra says it wants to cut the red tape and lift the regulatory burden on biotech research and development. But the process of, for example, applying for a field trial in the UK already has a very low burden of proof, takes only a couple of months from start to finish and costs only a few thousand pounds.
Moreover, few, if any, field trial applications have ever been refused in the UK, so it’s hard to imagine what the government can do to make what is essentially a rubber stamp process less burdensome.
Unless, as some suspect, it is to remove sensible ‘safety-first’ measures like public notifications, requirements for buffer zones between the trial and other crops and procedures to stop trial material getting into the food chain and crop residues persisting in the field. At time of writing there are still no details of the full proposal.
Deregulation
Underneath the fanfare, the vagueness and lack of real substance in Defra’s consultation report and the announcement of the rule change, suggests that the government did not get the answers it was hoping for in its public consultation.
In fact, the public has expressed little appetite for deregulating an experimental technology that could heap more disruption on a food system already in crisis.
This was confirmed by some very troubling figures in Defra’s detailed analysis of the consultation responses. This summary was released after the initial press announcement had been taken up widely by the media and was therefore largely ignored by the mainstream press.
It showed that Defra excluded nearly half of the consultation responses based on the fact that it identified them as coming from supporters of “campaigns”. Even so, of those responses that were included in the final analysis, 85 percent indicated no support for deregulation.
The government has chosen to ignore overwhelming public opinion and pursue deregulation anyway.
Problematic
Equally troubling is the basis on which Defra is choosing to change regulations. According to Defra, the focus of any changes will be on plants produced by genetic technologies, where genetic changes could have occurred naturally or could have been a result of traditional breeding methods.
We at Beyond GM were highly critical of this argument in our own response to the consultation. We argued: “The concept of gene editing events that ‘could have occurred naturally or through traditional breeding’ is not defined in the consultation document, on the Citizen Space form or in any of Defra’s materials relating to this consultation and has no basis in science.”
We weren’t the only ones as our own internal analysis of all the publicly available consultation responses shows.
For instance, the Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFST) believes this approach to be “overly simplistic”; the Microbiology Society said it was “purely philosophical”, Nuffield Council on Bioethics said it was “not convinced that this is either the most proper or most popular framing”.
Further, the Roslin Institute found it “exceptionally challenging”, Royal Society called it “problematic” and quite rightly made reference to issues around how rare this phenomenon actually is.
Breeding
The Royal Society of Biology said it provided “no clear criteria” and further noted that “no clarity can be achieved using this principle” and “we would not recommend using it as the basis for regulation”.
Defra is choosing to ignore concerns about the unscientific nature of its framework in order to pursue what appears to be a largely subjective and ideological agenda.
According to George Eustice, the secretary of state for the environment: “Gene editing has the ability to harness the genetic resources that nature has provided. It is a tool that could help us in order to tackle some of the biggest challenges that we face – around food security, climate change and biodiversity loss”.
Indeed, a new and aggressive PR narrative around gene editing seeks to bolster support for deregulation of gene-edited crops by framing them in the context of global emergencies like climate breakdown and the fragilities of the industrial food system.
But the degree to which plant breeding in general, and agricultural genetic technologies in particular, can address these overwhelming global challenges is highly contested.
Failure
Tackling food waste and the greenhouse gas emissions of energy companies and the transport industry are likely to yield better and faster results. Indeed, look how quickly CO2 emissions fell during the recent global lockdowns.
We can’t save the world through genetically engineered crops. It is an entrepreneurial folly that, based on past performance, is bound to disappoint.
For more than 30 years, biotechnology has been promising that environment-enhancing crops are just around the corner. These crops have never materialised because the genetics of disease- and pest-resistance, of higher nutrition, better yields and drought- and salt-tolerance are complex and difficult to manipulate.
What works in the lab all too often doesn’t work in the real world. It is that failure, rather than the regulatory landscape, which has stalled the progress of genome editing in farming.
The people know it – and the UK government should be listening.
This Author
Pat Thomas is a director of Beyond GM and A Bigger Conversation in the UK.
[ad_2]
Original Post
Have you ever considered publishing an ebook or guest authoring on other sites? I have a blog based upon on the same topics you discuss and would really like to have you share some stories/information. I know my audience would enjoy your work. If you are even remotely interested, feel free to send me an e-mail.
This is a topic close to my heart cheers, where are your contact details though?
I’d have to examine with you here. Which is not one thing I usually do! I take pleasure in reading a post that may make folks think. Additionally, thanks for permitting me to comment!
Everyone loves what you guys are up too. Such clever work and coverage! Keep up the superb works guys I’ve added you guys to blogroll.
I like this web blog very much so much excellent info .
Thanks for this howling post, I am glad I observed this website on yahoo.
Hiya, I am really glad I have found this information. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossips and internet and this is actually frustrating. A good website with interesting content, that’s what I need. Thank you for keeping this web-site, I will be visiting it. Do you do newsletters? Can’t find it.
I am continually looking online for ideas that can benefit me. Thank you!
Hi there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it’s really informative. I am gonna watch out for brussels. I will appreciate if you continue this in future. A lot of people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
Very interesting points you have remarked, thankyou for posting.
Hey there! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I really enjoy reading your articles. Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same subjects? Thank you so much!
I just like the valuable info you provide for your articles. I will bookmark your weblog and check once more here frequently. I am slightly sure I will learn lots of new stuff right right here! Good luck for the following!
you’re actually a good webmaster. The web site loading pace is incredible. It sort of feels that you’re doing any unique trick. In addition, The contents are masterpiece. you’ve done a magnificent activity in this subject!
I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself? Plz reply back as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to know wheere u got this from. thanks
Undeniably consider that which you said. Your favourite reason appeared to be at the internet the simplest thing to be mindful of. I say to you, I certainly get irked while other folks think about issues that they plainly don’t understand about. You managed to hit the nail upon the highest as neatly as outlined out the whole thing with no need side-effects , folks could take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thank you
My coder is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on several websites for about a year and am concerned about switching to another platform. I have heard good things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress posts into it? Any kind of help would be really appreciated!
Appreciate it for all your efforts that you have put in this. very interesting info .
I enjoy the efforts you have put in this, appreciate it for all the great content.
Hi, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, fantastic blog!
You have mentioned very interesting details ! ps decent web site.
I carry on listening to the news broadcast lecture about getting boundless online grant applications so I have been looking around for the best site to get one. Could you tell me please, where could i get some?
It is in point of fact a great and useful piece of information. I’m glad that you simply shared this helpful information with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve recently started a site, the info you offer on this web site has helped me greatly. Thanks for all of your time & work.
Can I just say what a relief to find someone who actually knows what theyre talking about on the internet. You definitely know how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More people need to read this and understand this side of the story. I cant believe youre not more popular because you definitely have the gift.
Howdy this is somewhat of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding knowledge so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Great beat ! I would like to apprentice whilst you amend your site, how can i subscribe for a blog website? The account helped me a acceptable deal. I have been tiny bit familiar of this your broadcast provided bright transparent idea
You have observed very interesting details! ps decent website . “High school is closer to the core of the American experience than anything else I can think of.” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr..
Some really great blog posts on this web site, thanks for contribution.
Heya i’m for the first time here. I found this board and I find It truly useful & it helped me out a lot. I hope to give something back and aid others like you aided me.
I love the efforts you have put in this, thank you for all the great blog posts.
Thanks for sharing excellent informations. Your web-site is so cool. I’m impressed by the details that you’ve on this site. It reveals how nicely you perceive this subject. Bookmarked this website page, will come back for extra articles. You, my pal, ROCK! I found simply the information I already searched everywhere and just couldn’t come across. What an ideal website.
Saved as a favorite, I really like your blog!
Some times its a pain in the ass to read what people wrote but this internet site is really user pleasant! .
Very interesting topic, appreciate it for posting.
But wanna remark that you have a very decent website , I like the design and style it really stands out.
This web site is really a walk-through for all of the info you wanted about this and didn’t know who to ask. Glimpse here, and you’ll definitely discover it.