Gene edited crops to be given the go ahead by Government

I thought many crops were already GM. I agree, it is worrying.

My DH who worked in the food industry for years is in favour of GM foods. He says it is the only way we will feed the world and he doesn’t think they are harmful.

GM and GE are different..
We currently are using EU rules but have decided to move away from them with this step.

As I understand it, GM is cross-species, GE is not.
The idea is we can make pigs less prone to certain viruses for example. This is on the surface a good thing but does it mean we can keep them in closer/worse even less "animal friendly" conditions?

dragonfly46

My DH who worked in the food industry for years is in favour of GM foods. He says it is the only way we will feed the world and he doesn’t think they are harmful.

This is about GE I think you'll find, not GM.

There is plenty to read from DEFRA on gene edited crops. 60 varieties already in circulation under strict guidelines. We need to be more open to being able to have food that can survive climate change, especially in those countries that will suffer, and are suffering , food shortages.
consult.defra.gov.uk/agri-food-chain-directorate/the-regulation-of-genetic-technologies/supporting_documents/Gene%20Editing%20Explainer.pdf

Sorry NotSpaghetti - will go back to bed ?

Surely these new methods should be just as rigorously tested as more traditional methods not just put into production? Any longer term consequences cannot be known.

Lincslass, about the link.
The DEFRA paper is not a discussion document but a sales document. Just because Australia and Japan are already doing it should not give our government the green light. I’d like to see far more debate in published documents. Maybe they think we are beyond understanding anything but the simplest explanation.
Do you have further links?

At last, one good thing to come out of Brexit!

If anything, Gene Editing is more precise than conventional plant breeding. royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/gm-plants/how-does-gm-differ-from-conventional-plant-breeding/

There was a consultation on this ayse.
It was long and detailed.

I'd rather look at the research papers than the advertising from DEFRA, personally.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26930114/

What do you fear about gene editing ayse?

My concern is that almost all GE crops are bred to rely on herbicides or insecticides by the same big companies who produce herbicides and insecticides.

Most pesticides and GE crops have been developed and patented by industrial agriculture for the benefit of its shareholders, and are not designed to benefit people or the planet.

I know that's true of GM crops Scones, but I don't know enough about gene editing to know if that's true in this case. Does anybody on here know?

I am wary of the speed of these interventions Scones .

I read about this ages ago but so much has gone on since then I'd need to read it all again to be fair.

growstuff

I know that's true of GM crops Scones, but I don't know enough about gene editing to know if that's true in this case. Does anybody on here know?

I was wondering about that, too, growstuff. GM was heavily publicised and vehemently opposed but GE seems to have slipped under the radar.

I'm also wondering if this so called 'brexit benefit' is one in reality. Are GE foods also banned in the EU or is the government just relying on people not knowing the difference between GM and GE?

I don't want sterile crops, poorer countries save the seeds.

GE crops are banned in the EU because the decision was taken that they come under the GM banner, but I don't really know enough about them. My understanding is that they're different.

I don't know whether GE crops are sterile. That's why I wondered if anybody actually knows.

One of the crops which would benefit from GE is bananas, which don't grow from seed. They're grown from bulbs produced by the dying plant, so I don't see why the growers couldn't harvest them as usual once they've bought GE plants to start them off.

growstuff

GE crops are banned in the EU because the decision was taken that they come under the GM banner, but I don't really know enough about them. My understanding is that they're different.

I don't know whether GE crops are sterile. That's why I wondered if anybody actually knows.

One of the crops which would benefit from GE is bananas, which don't grow from seed. They're grown from bulbs produced by the dying plant, so I don't see why the growers couldn't harvest them as usual once they've bought GE plants to start them off.

Searching for GE foods isn't very helpful as it just brings up lots of pages which more or less say that GE is the same as GM.

But, interesting article, with links, here:

agbiotech.ces.ncsu.edu/q1-what-is-the-difference-between-genetically-modified-organisms-and-genetically-engineered-organisms-we-seem-to-use-the-terms-interchangeably/

Genetic editing is also known as CRISPR and is not the same as genetic manipulation/engineering, gmos. The terminology is confusing.

GE is manipulation, Shrub
It’s not cross-species though, apparently.

I realise that NotSpaghetti, I was just linking the phrases that seem to have become commonplace over time with regard to the methods.

NotSpaghetti

GE is manipulation, Shrub
It’s not cross-species though, apparently.

All plant breeding is manipulation and that's been going on for centuries.

growstuff

What do you fear about gene editing ayse?

It’s again a matter of trust. I realise that the EU treat GE the same as GM currently as insufficient evidence of no harms to the environment (enough problems already). As others upthread have said it’s the speed, the involvement of multinationals in the research. I don’t trust this government either except to line their pockets at the expense of others.

I’m going to have a read of the link supplied by MaizieD. It’s currently a search for some sort of informed debate. As another poster said this seems to have slipped in under the radar, or at least the mainstream media.

Perhaps I need to take the bull by the horns and look at The Guardian more often.?