Citizen views are integral to ensuring that technologies and science responds to the needs and wants of society at large. Our new review concludes it’s time to make meaningful citizen engagement part of the DNA of the regulatory process.
The public wants gene-editing regulated – the government should listen
Anything can happen between now and the final version of the new Precision Breeding Bill. But government seems to have taken to heart the suggestion from last year’s Regulatory Horizons Council report to apply “creative use of guidelines, standards [and] policies” to see if it’s possible to get it right (or get away with it).
Deregulating GMOs in the UK – New Report ‘Fills in the Blanks’ in Defra’s Plans
A new analysis by A Bigger Conversation suggests that, in its haste to deregulate agricultural gene technologies, the UK government is “choosing to get it wrong” by ignoring expertise from all sides.
Are gene-editing technologies traditional? Not if they are linked to intellectual rights
The recent Defra public consultation on the regulation of genetic technologies suggested that gene editing was the same as ‘traditional plant breeding’. But, says Kathleen Garnett, if its patented its not traditional.
Genetic technologies: safety and risk correlate with scale, not naturalness
Framing genetic engineering as ‘natural’ fuels conflict and creates distractions in the discussions about the technology, says Jack Heinemann – including those around the newly commercialised techniques of genome editing and gene silencing.
A crossroads for ‘genome editing’ in Europe – questions, options and dilemmas
A new policy briefing from the Genome Editing and Agriculture: Policies, Practices and Public Perceptions (GEAP3) project discusses choices and dilemmas facing policy makers and societal stakeholders in the European Union and the United Kingdom asks bigger questions.
Can a new method for detecting a new gene-edited plant ensure product traceability, labelling and consumer trust?
In September of this year, the first-ever public detection method for a gene-edited crop was announced. The new method detects a herbicide-tolerant (SU) rapeseed variety that was developed using gene […]
How a new biotech rule will foster distrust with the public and impede progress in science
Reclaiming a baseline of accountability is the first step in building public confidence in regulatory systems that work for people as well as science that the public believes in.
The uncomfortable truth about GMOs and co-existence
A new report suggests that while plant breeders of all kinds support the idea of ‘working together’ – there are few practical or regulatory pathways for achieving ‘co-existence’
We need to talk about CRISPR
We need an active public debate on the ethics of gene editing technology to realise its potential and prevent it being used in nefarious ways.