Gene-edited crops and animals get the green light in England

A new law will allow the planting and creation of crops and animals in England that were made using gene-editing techniques – but this won’t apply to the rest of the UK yet. The move unshackles researchers and companies from onerous EU regulations for genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which has so far stymied advanced breeding tools in European agriculture.

The change in the law will only apply to England and will permit precise changes or deletions to DNA sequences, introducing traits using Crispr, for instance. The law removes most Crispr gene editing from burdensome regulations that still apply to GMOs.

‘To qualify as a precision-bred organism, or a PBO, it has to be something that could have been achieved using traditional breeding methods,’ says Wendy Harwood, who heads up the crop transformation group at John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK. The law took into account a consultation launched in 2021.