Gene-edited crops are now legal in England amid a push to protect climate-threatened food supplies. The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill was given royal assent last night.
In the early 2000s, protesters trampled on experimental crops. But concerns about food security amid the war in Ukraine and climate change have altered attitudes.
New tech lets scientists insert genes that, for example, extend the strawberry season or keep lettuces tasty in the heat. However, meat production will need a further vote by MPs.
Food minister Mark Spencer said: “Some 40 percent of crops globally are lost every year to floods, pests and other external events, and this new law will unlock our agri-biotech industry to support resilient food production for decades to come.”
David Exwood, National Farmers’ Union vice president, said the tech “is by no means a silver bullet, but having access to more targeted precision breeding tools for our crops and livestock could really help bolster climate-friendly food production and support biodiversity here in Britain”.
Experts have concerns that labelling of gene-edited food is not a requirement. It is also unclear how it will be kept out of other parts of the UK where bans remain.
But Professor Giles Oldroyd, at the University of Cambridge, said current methods “cannot keep up with the rapidly changing challenges of new growing conditions”.
He said the law “allows scientists to accelerate what might otherwise be possible through conventional breeding over a longer time frame”.