“The European Union is substantially loosening its restrictions on certain gene-edited crops. Last month, the European Parliament passed a law that will allow plants with genetic modifications that could occur naturally or through conventional breeding to bypass the EU’s onerous approval process for genetically modified organisms. The new regulatory process is expected to take effect in around two years,” reports The Doomslayer.
Science adds:
In a long-awaited step, the European Parliament yesterday passed a law that allows the expedited approval of many gene-edited crops without the rigorous review required for traditional transgenic varieties…
The vote is “a landmark decision for science, innovation, and sustainable agriculture in Europe,” according to a network of plant research institutes. Scientists and seed companies hope the law will lead to faster adoption of crops with improved disease resistance, heat tolerance, and nutrition.
Under the rules, as finalized this week, approval will be faster for crops whose gene edit seems modest enough that it could have been made through conventional breeding—a simple base change in an existing gene, for example, rather than the addition a nonplant gene. Stricter oversight will remain for transgenic engineering or more substantial gene editing….
It will be several years before any gene-edited crops are grown in the EU. The legislation includes a 2-year period to work out the details of the regulatory system before accepting the first requests for approval. And after national and EU regulators sign off on a gene-edited crop, it must still go through seed testing like any other new variety.
A monkey survived for two years on a gene-edited pig kidney transplant. People are living longer and longer on genetically-modified pig kidneys.
A new genetically-modified banana resistant to browning has been approved in two countries. A non-browning apple has been approved for sale in Canada. That will make it possible to slice the apple and store the slices for a while, without the slices rapidly going brown, as happens to traditional apples soon after they are sliced.
Genetic engineering created a tomato that is sweet and large yet doesn’t go bad quickly, the way most large sweet tomatoes would.
Genetically-modified pigs now provide pork and bacon that people who are allergic to pork can eat.
A genetically-modified chicken lays eggs that people allergic to eggs can eat.
Genetic engineering has led to a corn yield breakthrough in China.
Gene therapy has also ended the years of excruciating pain suffered by a boy with sickle-cell disease. And it has restored vision in some people with inherited blindness.
