Regulations on gene editing of animals are contributing to negative public perceptions of the technology and stifling innovation in the livestock sector, according to Alison Van Eenennaam of the University of California, Davis.
“I predict there’s going to be a targeted activist campaign against gene editing in food production for a number of reasons,” Van Eenennaam said during the 2021 Cultivating Trust Summit hosted by Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan.
She cited the lengthy regulatory pathways used by some, namely the United States and the European Union, that favour large companies that can afford to navigate the system and the intellectual property costs.
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“I’ve heard the argument that regulation helps the consumer trust the product. I absolutely don’t buy that,” says Van Eenennaam.
“I think the regulation around genetic modification has made people more fearful than products which are not regulated. Like genomic selection for example, [which] dramatically changed the rate of genetic gain, does a lot of things genome editing does, but I haven’t heard boo around it.
“Genome editing being unique and requiring a higher bar, it’s going to make it a target.”
