China enthusiastically embracing gene-edited crops

Ayushi Raina | Krishi Jagran | February 25, 2022

This article or excerpt is included in the GLP’s daily curated selection of ideologically diverse news, opinion and analysis of biotechnology innovation. It is posted under Fair Use guidelines.

Researchers in China are ecstatic about their government’s approval of gene-edited crops, claiming that it clears the way for the plants’ usage in agriculture and would stimulate research into varieties that are tastier, pest-resistant and more adaptable to a warming world.

Researchers have been rushing to submit applications for the use of their gene-edited crops since China’s agricultural ministry released preliminary guidelines on January 24.

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China’s new rules are more conservative than those in the United States, which do not regulate gene-edited crops that incorporate small changes similar to those that might occur naturally, but are more lenient than the European Union’s stance of treating all gene-edited crops as genetically modified (GM) organisms.

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Obtaining biosafety approval for a GM crop in China can now take up to six years. However, experts believe that the new guidelines, which outline the process for acquiring a biosafety certificate for gene-edited crops, might cut the approval period to one to two years.

GM crops require extensive, large-scale field trials before they are approved for use. The new guidelines stipulate that, for gene-edited crops deemed to pose no environmental or food-safety risks, developers need only provide laboratory data and conduct small-scale field trials.

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