Two gene-edited crops — white button mushrooms and “waxy” hybrid corn — are years from the market yet they already are creating turmoil in Britain over the use of gene-editing technology and the propriety of importing foods created with it, says The Guardian.
Adding to the uncertainty is the recent delay by the European Commission of a decision on whether gene editing should be regulated the same way as traditional GMOs or under a less severe set of rules. Crop scientist Huw Jones told The Guardian, “Researchers and plant breeders in the UK simply do not known whether it is worth investing time and money in creating novel foods using gene editing, despite its enormous potential. At the same time, the United States has given clear signals of approval to its scientists.”
In the case of the button mushroom and waxy corn, both were developed with the gene-editing technology called CRISPR. Because they did not involve genetic transfer, an attribute of traditional GMOs, the USDA said they are not covered by plant-protection laws so they are outside the regulatory framework for GMOs. The administration is in the early stages of updating its agricultural biotechnology regime because of the development of new technologies.
“In Britain, scientists have developed a number of promising plant strains but still do not know if they will be treated as GM crops, effectively blocking their cultivation,” said The Guardian. Examples include barley that makes its own nitrogen fertilizer and a beetroot that produces a drug used in treating Parkinson’s disease. “It is also not clear whether importation of products such as gene-edited corn will be allowed into Britain or the rest of Europe, because the commission has not decided whether it is to be rated a GM crop or not.”