Gene editing offers the opportunity to breed with precision, adapting crops and farm animals to a changing climate, providing disease resistance, faster growth, and more stable yields. Products from gene-edited crops and farm animals are introduced to markets outside the EU, and within the EU, negotiations are ongoing to relax the regulation of gene-edited plants. An interesting question is: how much does the Swedish public know about what gene editing entails, and what are their views on its use in agriculture?

To answer this question, two web-based surveys were conducted, focusing on gene-edited crops and farm animals, including farmed fish. About half of the respondents had previously heard of gene editing, and ten percent said they were somewhat or very familiar with the gene editing technology.

The majority were positive towards gene editing for most applications in crop breeding, provided the purpose was clearly beneficial to society, such as growing crops with a reduced negative impact on the environment or producing healthier food. Half of the respondents considered that it would be right to relax regulations for the approval of gene-edited crops within the EU, while just under a third thought it would be wrong.

If gene editing was to improve animal welfare, half of the respondents thought it would be right to use the technology for breeding farm animals. For other applications, there was more significant scepticism. Just over a third thought it would be right to relax legislation for gene-edited animals, while nearly half thought it would be wrong.

The study showed that younger individuals and those with greater knowledge of the technology were generally more positive. In comparison, older individuals and those who had not previously heard of gene editing were more negative. A greater understanding of what the technology involves correlated with a more positive attitude, with the central factor being whether the purpose benefited society. 

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