‘Biggest limitation is legislative uncertainty’: Slow, steady adoption of agricultural gene editing expected in next few years

Credit: AgriPartner
Credit: AgriPartner

We all know that vegetables are good for you. And with advances in plant breeding innovation, this can accelerate the improvement of seed varieties for the benefit of agriculture and consumers on a global basis.

“In the last decade alone, crop-focused gene editing research projects have grown exponentially,” says Szabolcs Ruthner,  regulatory affairs specialist at the International Seed Federation.

“Studies that focused specifically on bringing gene edited plant products into the marketplace have already surpassed 200 peer-reviewed publications,” he says. “That number continues to grow. We see a huge diversity in developers, species, and improved characteristics in 25 different countries. This gives us plenty of reasons to be thrilled about the future of this method.”

Follow the latest news and policy debates on sustainable agriculture, biomedicine, and other ‘disruptive’ innovations. Subscribe to our newsletter.
[Regulatory affairs specialist at the International Seed Federation Szabolcs] Ruthner says the industry can clearly see the huge potential that the latest breeding methods, such as genome editing, can bring to the seed sector.

“At the moment, the biggest limitation is the legislative uncertainty in many areas of the world,” he says. “Therefore, we see only niche products on niche markets and there is no product being commercialized with global relevance.”

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here.

{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.singularReviewCountLabel }}
{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.pluralReviewCountLabel }}
{{ options.labels.newReviewButton }}
{{ userData.canReview.message }}
Infographic: Global regulatory and health research agencies on whether glyphosate causes cancer

Infographic: Global regulatory and health research agencies on whether glyphosate causes cancer

Does glyphosate—the world's most heavily-used herbicide—pose serious harm to humans? Is it carcinogenic? Those issues are of both legal and ...
glp menu logo outlined

Get news on human & agricultural genetics and biotechnology delivered to your inbox.