Why gene editing of food crops remains controversial
Why gene editing of food crops remains controversial
Gene-editing techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9 have many uses in the area of food and agriculture.
They can combat persistent drought and disease, and improve the colour and nutritional content of food while making it tastier to boot.
Yet in Europe, gene editing has been controversial for a long time. It remains a regulatory minefield, due to persisting ethical and safety concerns.
There are many reasons for this. A literature review explored those that were the most common.
Much of the scepticism around gene editing comes from fears around safety, especially in the case of gene drives (where the inheritance of certain genes is enhanced). The reproducibility of this could be dangerous.
Others were concerned that a prevalence of gene edited crops could afford overwhelming control of agriculture to a small group of biotech companies. Specifically, corporate patenting may give control of agriculture to too few companies.
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