Failure to diverge from some aspects of EU regulation of crop biotechnology and new breeding techniques (NBTs) after Brexit will represent a missed opportunity for the UK and could lead to the UK failing to take advantage of available economic and wider societal benefits, a new independent analysis has found.
‘UK plant genetics: a regulatory environment to maximise advantage to the UK economy post Brexit’ considers three future scenarios for the regulation of gene edited crops and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), ranging from maintaining current alignment with the EU through improved implementation of EU rules, to the UK setting its own regulatory path on both GMOs and NBTs.
[T]he report concludes that if the UK sets its own sound-science-based regulatory system, it will provide a first-class food safety assessment system that potentially gives farmers better seed, improves their competitiveness, better meets consumer demands and maximizes long-term economic and wider societal benefits to the UK.Graham Brookes, agricultural economist and author of the paper said …. ‘A sound-science-based regulatory system …. would …. provide scope for delivering both important economic benefits to the UK economy and wider societal benefits …. Continuing to adhere strictly to the current EU system is not the way forward if the UK wishes to develop long term sustainable agricultural production systems’
Read full, original article: UK urged to ‘bring back’ sound science as the basis for regulating crop genetic innovations post-Brexit
