EU rules on GM set to be ditched

Europe’s stance on genetic modification (GM) and gene-editing (GE) is set to be ditched if Prime Minister Boris Johnson follows through on his pledge to “liberate” the UK’s bioscience sector from EU rules post-Brexit.

The Scottish Government remains fiercely opposed to the cultivation of GM crops in the open environment in order to protect the “clean green status of Scotland’s £14 billion food and drink sector”.

But two of Britain’s agricultural science powerhouses – including the James Hutton Institute (JHI) – responded warmly to Mr Johnson’s intended direction of travel.

Rothamsted Research director Professor Achim Dobermann welcomed the prospect of a more pragmatic approach to the risk assessment of GM crops, while JHI director Professor Colin Campbell, whose institute relies heavily on Scottish Government funding, said GM and GE had “great potential” to develop crops with biological resistance to pathogens, including blight in potatoes.