The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Farm leaders renew gene editing plea
Scottish farm leaders have renewed their plea for access to new technologies such as gene editing. It comes following confirmation in the Queen’s Speech that the UK Government will introduce new legislation – the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill – to unlock the potential of new farming technologies such as gene editing (GE).
The Scottish Government has long said it wants to maintain a GM-free crop status, but farming union NFU Scotland (NFUS) says farmers and crofters need access to GE technology to become more sustainable.
“New technologies, including the likes of gene editing, can help positively address some of the big challenges Scottish agriculture faces, including how we respond to the climate emergency and address biodiversity loss,” said NFUS president Martin Kennedy.
“We firmly believe that precision breeding techniques as a route to crop and livestock improvement could allow us to grow crops which are more resilient to increased pest and disease pressure brought about by our changing climate and more extreme weather events.
“It would also allow us to use new breeding techniques to breed more productive, efficient animals that need fewer inputs to protect their welfare.
“This could be crucial in enabling our farmers to become truly sustainable.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Scotland’s policy on GMOs has not changed. We remain opposed to the use of GM in farming, to protect the clean, green brand of Scotland’s £15 billion food and drink industry.”
He said the government was aware of the debate around genomic techniques and how these relate to existing GM legislation, especially at European level.
The spokesman added: “The Scottish Government’s policy is to stay aligned with the EU, where practicable, and we are closely monitoring the EU’s position on this issue.”