Gene edited crops to be given the go ahead by Government

Scones

My concern is that almost all GE crops are bred to rely on herbicides or insecticides by the same big companies who produce herbicides and insecticides.

Most pesticides and GE crops have been developed and patented by industrial agriculture for the benefit of its shareholders, and are not designed to benefit people or the planet.

This is rather along the lines of my thoughts although it’s put far better by Scones

Ah yes, another benefit of Brexit. Those Europeans with their tedious rigorous testing processes. The race to the bottom at full speed.

It's my understanding that GE is the same approach as selective breeding, which has been going on for millennia, but is quicker as the genes are, for want of a better word, edited. Selective breeding requires time for the results to show.

GM, where a gene from one species can be put into another, has been linked to big pesticide firms (yes, Monsanto, I'm talking about you) as a way to make crop plants resistant to their pesticides, which can then be broadcast on to "weeds" in large quantities. Also for making plants sterile so that farmers, even in poor countries, cannot save seeds for future years. There has also been concern, I believe, about whether properties introduced to crop plants from other species (not necessarily even other plants), will spread into wild plants. This would not happen with GE plants as the genes edited were those of the plant already.

Hope that makes sense (and is accurate - the management accepts no responsibility...).

The main difference between GE and GM crops is explained in the BBC article in the original post. Yer tiz....

"Gene-edited (GE) crops have much simpler genetic alternations than so-called genetically modified (GM) ones. GM crops often involve the addition of extra genes, sometimes from a completely different species; and in some instances the insertion of DNA from animals.

Gene-edited crops, by contrast, often just have genes snipped out of them, producing new varieties within months that could also have been produced by traditional cross-breeding but over a period of several years."

I believe the EU considers both GM and does not allow the technology.

I remember discussing losing the benefits of the EU laws protecting our food and agriculture standards with some pro-Brexit friends before the referendum. I was the only one who thought it was a potential problem, but then, I was the only one who voted remain.

WhenIwasyourage we aren't just talking plants with GE. We are talking animals too.
As I said above, one benefit is (proponents say) they can edit pigs to be less prone to, say, swine fever but my concern is that pig farms are notorious for starting flu pandemics as they catch both human and bird as well as swine flu. Are we making a petri-dish in which to grow more zoonotic disease?
Will they mix other stretches of DNA?

The USA has already allowed GM salmon into the human food chain and now pigs. Is this GE the thin end of the wedge so to speak here?

The other thing I remember reading about GE was that they could breed pigs that don't need castration to prevent meat from "tainting" with boar hormones at puberty. They say this is in the pigs interest as it suppresses the development of the testes.

I don't know a lot about GE to be honest... but I DO know it's not just for plants!

Apologies to all, because I really should have searched on gene editing, not gene engineering. Hope the article I linked to hasn't muddied the water further...

Exactly. Wheat has been modified and hybridized to give better yields,but in the process, it has lost some of its nutritional value. I have just discovered Einkorn flour which is an unmodified wheat with more health benefits.
The thought of modifying crops is scary to me as the bottom line will be profit rather than health.

I meant to quote 'growstuff.'

Someone on twitter has pointed me this (undated) abstract of a research paper about gene editing

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26930114/

It's 2015 Maisie

Please don't think this is just about crops as it's about animals too.

Its a way of speeding up the method that has been used for centuries of selective breeding to achieve certain characteristics such as disease resistance or larger crops. Nothing is added with GE, small bits are taken out instead. GM means adding foreign genetic material to food to achieve something similar. Gene editing should be far more acceptable to people than GM. It achieves the same results as natural selective breeding but in a far shorter period of time.

I read an article on it last week.
I think it’s a good thing.

Urmstongran

I read an article on it last week.
I think it’s a good thing.

Why

And yet you were happy no doubt to have a vaccine without vigorous testing being injected into your body ??

Olive53

And yet you were happy no doubt to have a vaccine without vigorous testing being injected into your body ??

Which vaccine was that?

All the Covid vaccines underwent vigorous testing.

Wheniwasyourage

It's my understanding that GE is the same approach as selective breeding, which has been going on for millennia, but is quicker as the genes are, for want of a better word, edited. Selective breeding requires time for the results to show.

GM, where a gene from one species can be put into another, has been linked to big pesticide firms (yes, Monsanto, I'm talking about you) as a way to make crop plants resistant to their pesticides, which can then be broadcast on to "weeds" in large quantities. Also for making plants sterile so that farmers, even in poor countries, cannot save seeds for future years. There has also been concern, I believe, about whether properties introduced to crop plants from other species (not necessarily even other plants), will spread into wild plants. This would not happen with GE plants as the genes edited were those of the plant already.

Hope that makes sense (and is accurate - the management accepts no responsibility...).

That's my understanding too, but I'm happy to be corrected.

I believe GE also includes gene transfer.
This is not just snipping a bit out Saetana.

NotSpaghetti

I believe GE also includes gene transfer.
This is not just snipping a bit out Saetana.

So what's the problem with gene transfer?

That's what happens with selective breeding.

Gene therapy, which is a form of genetic editing, could be used to correct the damaged gene which causes cystic fibrosis. Surely that would be a good thing.

Urmstongran

I read an article on it last week.
I think it’s a good thing.

If you can remember where you read the article, I'd be interested in reading it.

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to hear Jim Al-Khalili lecture. He mentioned the names Jennifer Doudna and Ray Kurzwil as pioneers in gene technology in connection with tackling chronic health conditions:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Doudna

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Kurzweil

The links on these pages will lead you to articles and papers about their work.

Jim's book What's Next includes a section called The Future of Us: Medicine, genetics and transhumanism with papers by Adam Kucharski, Aarathi Prasda, Adam Rutherford and Mark Walker .. for anyone who wants to do some reading around the subject.

I wonder whether the EU blocked GM foods to avoid imports from the USA where GM food is common? Now the UK is out of the EU we can import GM food from USA

No.
They did not. Of that we can be certain!

I'm still not clear of the difference between Modification, Editing, and natural breeding. I'd like to think that anything going into my body is as natural as possible. Yes I know there are lots of additives to food, which I don't like, but I can't do much about that other than buy organic.
Using the argument that it's the only way to feed the world population is specious: there is enough food for all, it's just that some have too much, and many have too little.

DD has been working on gene editing for over 20 years. It is using the plant's own DNA rather than mixing with other species and will not produce "Frankenstein Crops". I gather that the EU is watching with interest.