UK farming has been held back by the hostility of the EU to new technology, which is causing European research to stagnate and agricultural yields to suffer.
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Last year, the European Court of Justice rejected the advice of its advocate general and ruled that organisms created using the precise gene-editing technique CRISPR-Cas9 should be subject to the same prohibitive regulatory hurdles as those created by genetic modification.
This represents a major setback for the many scientists who hoped that the court would recognize [that] gene-editing involves changes to an organism’s DNA, but does not involve the insertion of foreign genes.
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Delivered properly, Brexit should, therefore, represent a wonderful opportunity for the countryside outside the failing EU model …. Global population, wealth and demand for top-quality agricultural products are all growing. Allowed to embrace the latest technologies …. British farmers can play an enormous role in meeting that demand, providing a huge boost to the rural economy and continuing the tradition of sustainable and effective management of the environment …
Read full, original article: Owen Paterson: ‘Brexit should offer British farming a wonderful opportunity’