UK relaxing rules to open door to gene-edited crops

The United Kingdom will relax rules to allow the gene-editing of crops in a move that scientists hope will improve yields and the hardiness of farmed food but that critics say opens the door to unacceptable meddling with nature.

George Eustice, the nation's minister for the environment, food, and rural affairs, unveiled the plans in Parliament on Wednesday, where he said London will begin by easing regulations around gene-editing research by the year's end.

Later, the UK will amend legislation, to exclude gene-editing from rules that limit the use of genetic modification, or GM. London says there is a clear difference between GM, which involves the use of DNA from more than one species, and gene-editing, which is simpler and, it says, similar to selective breeding.

The government says it may eventually relax rules to allow the gene-editing of animals.

Eustice said the changes will make it possible for gene-edited crops to be grown commercially and set the UK apart from the European Union, where GM is banned.

"Gene-editing has the ability to harness the genetic resources that nature has provided," the Financial Times quoted Eustice as saying. "It is a tool that could help us … to tackle some of the biggest challenges that we face; around food security, climate change, and biodiversity loss."

The government claims gene-editing could help crops resist pests and disease, and Eustice said it could help companies develop crops that are resilient to climate change.

Initially, the change will allow researchers to study gene-editing without going through a lengthy licensing process. They will simply need to notify the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs when they want to start field trials.

The Guardian newspaper said the government has also promised to look at ways people can be kept informed about their food, such as through labeling, so they can chose whether to eat gene-edited crops or avoid them.

The BBC noted that the relaxation of the UK's legislation will initially only apply in England. The devolved governments of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will be able to decide whether to opt into the new rules.

Critics of the relaxation said gene-editing, like GM, carries unknown risks and should remain tightly controlled.

Liz O'Neill, director of GM Freeze, an umbrella group that lobbies on the issue on behalf of organizations including Friends of the Earth and the Soil Association, said: "Genetic engineering-whatever you choose to call it-needs to be properly regulated. The UK government wants to swap the safety net of proper public protections for a high-tech free-for-all, but our food, our farms and the natural environment deserve better."