Scientists from 120 European research institutions support an open statement [arguing] that crops created using gene-editing techniques should not be treated as conventional genetically modified plants.
Coinciding with the first anniversary of the resolution of case C-528/16 by the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ), the European plant science community has released an Open Statement reaching out to the newly elected European Parliament and European Commission to enable the use of new genome editing techniques to achieve …. more sustainable agriculture, in line with the UN sustainable development goals.
CRISPR-Cas [gene editing] technology allows [scientists to modify] genes with great precision and ease, opening a wide range of possibilities with applications both in the fields of medicine and plant breeding.
…
Researchers around the world are already using the CRISPR-Cas system to carry out targeted modifications on species of agronomic interest in a faster, relatively simple and much more directed way compared to previous plant breeding techniques such as random mutagenesis. As with conventional breeding techniques, the objective of researchers using CRISPR-Cas is to introduce mutations that confer advantageous characteristics to the plant, such as resistance to plant pathogens or to drought ….
Read full, original article: European scientists call for a review of the European Union legislation on genome-edited crops
