Keir Starmer should secure the UK’s innovation of gene editing (Image: Getty)
Britain must use its post-Brexit freedom to become a world leader in gene editing to cut costs and reduce chemicals in growing food, MPs have said. This innovation can create crops that are more resilient to extreme conditions, increase resistance to diseases that would otherwise devastate harvests and slash the environmental footprint of farming.
meant that the last Conservative government could bypass EU delay, cut red tape and allow UK scientists to spearhead gene editing technology. But Tory MPs warn there is a risk the Bloc insists that the UK adopts the same tighter regulations as the EU single market during ’s bid for closer ties. Alan Mak MP said: ” campaigned energetically for a second referendum with free movement of people. So it’s no surprise he seeks the lazy embrace of the EU when it’s not in the national interest.
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“The PM should be making the most of our hard-fought freedoms. Global Britain can be nimbler and regulate better than the ailing EU. We can reap the rewards of gene editing, but only if we don’t kowtow to the EU.
“But, as per usual, instead of fighting for Britain’s national interest, he’s more interested in cosying up to his mates in Brussels.”
Gene editing allows scientists to make precise, targeted changes to a plant’s DNA, enabling them to introduce or modify specific traits.
Tropic Bioscience, a start-up based in Norwich, has developed non-browning bananas to reduce waste.
An estimated 33% of the produce that is harvested worldwide is never consumed because of the short shelf-life of many fruits and vegetables.
Scientists are also working on a way to make tomatoes sweeter without sacrificing their size.
Experts suggest that most consumers prefer sweeter varieties – but it can be difficult to achieve both sweetness and size in tomato plants.
Bananas and rice have been made to include extra vitamin A, and other crops have been enriched with vitamin E, iron and zinc. These nutrients have been identified as early targets because they are key deficiencies in many people’s diets.
Former environment secretary Baroness Coffey: “While Labour says it is the party of innovation and slashing regulation, why is it now threatening our gene-editing industry with red tape in order to cosy up to the EU?
“Gene-editing can boost food’s shelf-life, reduce food waste, and make crops more resilient to extreme weather events, pests, and disease. Cutting regulations is a win for British scientists and our farmers. But yet again Labour is preparing to trade away what is best for our rural communities and the environment by unwinding our freedoms.
“If Labour really cared about our environment, food security, and cutting the , the government should further liberate this exciting technology instead of holding embarrassing EU love-ins.”
Rebecca Smith MP echoed the warnings that Labour risks throwing away vital post- progress on gene-editing.
She added: “This technology has the potential to create crops that last longer and can cope with extreme weather. This will save consumers and farmers money whilst creating a more sustainable Britain. Labour must not cut the legs off an industry in which the UK could be world-leading.”
Kitty Thompson, Senior Nature Programme Manager at the Conservative Environment Network, urged the Government to use legislation to unlock the full potential of science.
She said: “At the exact moment this Labour government should be unlocking the Genetic Technology Act’s full potential, it is instead looking for ways to get closer to the EU.
“Any efforts to make trading with the EU easier should absolutely not come at the expense of the progress we have made on making it easier for our farmers to access gene-editing technology.”
A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: “This Government recognises that food security is national security.
“That’s why we have laid legislation to enact the Precision Breeding Act for plants – enabling the development of crops that are more nutritious, resistant to pests and disease, resilient to climate change and more beneficial to the environment.
“With these measures, our agriculture sector will be at the forefront of innovation across the world.”
By Jerome Mayhew MP
Gene editing can be a game-changer for our farmers, scientific community, and the environment by using science to speed up the benefits of selective breeding.
Using gene editing we can protect our crops from climate change, help reduce our reliance on expensive and polluting chemicals, and unlock bountiful business opportunities.
Brexit meant that the last Conservative government could bypass EU delay, cut red tape and allow UK scientists to spearhead gene editing technology.Our half-century membership of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy was disastrous for our countryside, slashing biodiversity and accelerating climate change.
Having left the EU we have started to repair the damage, with public money now being focussed on improving agricultural investment and techniques so that nature can flourish as we grow more. And with war in Europe we need food security more than ever.
Precision breeding techniques, like gene editing, can play a critical role in securing our increasingly exposed domestic supply of food, protecting farmers’ crops and offering a unique economic opportunity in the process.Plant breeding already increases our yields by 1% per year.
As time progresses, making our crops more resistant to more pests and diseases will be integral to our efforts to mitigate against the impacts of climate change.Equally, precision breeding of animals can improve their welfare.
Reducing the need for antibiotics, resistance to which is regarded by many as the next big societal challenge we will need to confront, can also put the UK on the front foot.Embracing gene editing will lower our reliance on field sprays and additives too. This can help improve water quality by reducing the volume of damaging chemicals flowing into our watercourses.That is why the Conservatives passed the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act back in 2023.
Free from the EU’s unnecessary red tape, we liberalised the law on gene editing, empowering businesses and farmers to develop and deploy this cutting-edge technology.
The legislative framework was set, but the general election came before the full regulations could be finalised. Labour needs to finish the job, but there is a huge risk that their determination to cosy up to the EU means that they will sacrifice our progress and handcuff innovators by returning to the EU’s deadening approach to gene editing regulation.There is a risk the EU insists on ‘dynamic alignment’, where the UK would have to adopt the same regulations as the EU single market.
This would render our gene editing reforms and other post-Brexit dynamism on food regulations redundant.Any Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards Agreement (SPS) that the UK enters into with the EU should not come at the expense of the progress we have made on gene-editing.
This should be a red line in any government negotiations.Plant breeding already contributes £1 billion annually in additional value to our economy. Think of how much can be unlocked if we go the whole hog with gene-editing.
With growth being the magic word for the government and food security a top five priority for the Environment Secretary, DEFRA has rightly recognised the opportunities of gene editing and committed to deliver the required secondary legislation.
We cannot let Labour’s ideological hostility to Brexit undermine farming’s future in the UK.