Green light for kale tweaked to be less bitter
Curbs enforced by EU ruling on gene-edited technology to be lifted to tackle food scarcity
KALE engineered to be less bitter could be available in supermarkets as the UK strips away EU regulations after Brexit and lifts curbs on gene-edited crops.
The Government is to announce the results of a consultation expected to give the green light for gene-edited agriculture. The technology is tightly regulated in the same way as genetically modified food as a result of a 2018 ruling by the European Court of Justice.
The move could also potentially open the British market to products developed overseas, particularly in the US.
Among the products in development in the US are a leafy green like kale that has been modified to make it taste more like lettuce and therefore more palatable, to encourage healthy eating.
Others include blackberries without thorns and seeds and cherries without stones, which could encourage parents to give them to children.
“If you want children to have healthy snacks, cherries are great but the stones are a health hazard,” said Professor Wendy Harwood of the John Innes Centre in Norwich, which is researching GE crops.
Backers of GE technology say they could help reduce food scarcity and make crops more resilient to climate change. It differs from genetic modification because it does not involve inputting DNA from a different species, and can mimic processes that have been used in farming for centuries.
In the UK, research has focused on making crops more resilient and efficient, and increasing their nutritional and health benefits.
A field trial of wheat gene-edited to remove the amino acid linked to carcinogens when bread is toasted was approved last month.
Professor Jonathan Napier, science director of the Rothamsted centre in Hertfordshire which is conducting the wheat trials, said the current regulations were “not fit for purpose”.
“GE products can help with changing climate and growing demand on land, but it’s not going to be a magic solution,” he said.
Tom Adams, the chief executive of Pairwise, said “Right now we are focused on leafy greens with better flavour but health benefits similar to kale, caneberries such as blackberries, raspberries and pitless cherries.
The National Farmers Union has welcomed the move to open the market to GE products, which it hopes will help farmers reduce losses to adverse weather, pests or disease.
But some environmental and consumer groups say opening up the regulation could have unintended consequences and have called for clear labelling on GE products.
Backers of GE technology fear labelling could kill the industry, by creating extra bureaucracy and consumer wariness.
The consultation could also lead to gene-editing within livestock, which scientists say can be used to create “super sires” that produce elite offspring that could improve food production and help save endangered species.