The [Scottish National Party, or] SNP has long opposed genetic modification of food to protect the “clean, green brand of Scotland’s £15 billion food and drink industry”.
However, scientists have developed a process of gene editing which improves crops using their existing genetics, without introducing the foreign genes more commonly associated with genetic modification.
Stephen Kerr, the Conservative MSP, urged critics to abandon their “scaremongering” about “Frankenstein foods” and get behind gene editing.
The UK government is pursuing a Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill at Westminster to advance the research, marketing and release of gene-edited foods.
Mairi McAllan, Scotland’s environment minister, said the SNP government was open-minded about the benefits of gene-edited crops but accused the UK government of rushing the bill through without consultation.
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Nearly half of Scottish consumers said they were confident gene-edited foods were safe to eat, compared with about a quarter who thought they were unsafe, according to research co-sponsored by Food Standards Scotland. [Conservative MP Stephen Kerr] urged the SNP to drop its constitutional and populist objections to gene editing.
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Colin Smyth, Labour’s rural affairs spokesman, said his party is “unashamedly pro-science and pro-innovation but we also believe in good regulation”.
