China has approved the safety of gene-edited wheat for the first time as Beijing cautiously moves forward with commercial growing of genetically modified food crops.
China approves first gene-edited wheat in step to open up GM tech to food crops
Alberta researcher blazes gene editing trail
AAFC launches gene edited wheat trials at Lethbridge research farm
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s only early spring, but things are already heating up in southern Alberta. Research scientist John Laurie has just planted the federal government’s first plots of gene-edited wheat at the Lethbridge Research and Development Centre. These lines are grown in a greenhouse after being successfully propagated in growth chambers. Laurie is excited for where his […] Read more
Green light for gene editing heralds new age in farming
New guidance from Ottawa puts gene-edited varieties on par with their conventionally bred cousins
Reading Time: 4 minutes In what many believe will be a turning point for agriculture here, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has legalized the growth and marketing of crop varieties developed with gene editing. That has fired up Jason Lenz’s imagination about the technology’s impact on food waste and food security — and also on flea beetles. “Food security […] Read more
Gene-edited crops clear CFIA’s regulatory bar
Agency guidance puts gene editing on level of conventional breeding
Plants gene-edited for efficient use of water or nutrients or to better withstand pests or drought now won’t have to clear the same regulatory hurdles in Canada as any crops that are modified for herbicide tolerance or include foreign genes. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday announced updated guidance from the Canadian Food Inspection […] Read more
CropLife not driving CFIA policy, agency says
NFU calls for CFIA head's ouster over 'indication of improper collaboration'
The National Farmers Union and a clutch of other organizations have asked Canada’s federal ag minister to replace the president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, citing questions about the provenance of regulatory proposals on gene-edited seed. CFIA officials, however, reject the NFU’s allegation that the metadata attached to the proposal document in question may […] Read more
Maryland man recovering after ‘breakthrough’ pig-heart transplant
Hog's genes edited to reduce rejection risk
Chicago | Reuters — A U.S. man with terminal heart disease was implanted with a genetically modified pig heart in a first-of-its-kind surgery, and three days later the patient is doing well, his doctors reported on Monday. The surgery, performed by a team at the University of Maryland Medicine, is among the first to demonstrate […] Read more
U.S. surgeons successfully test pig kidney transplant in human patient
New York | Reuters — For the first time, a pig kidney has been transplanted into a human without triggering immediate rejection by the recipient’s immune system, a potentially major advance that could eventually help alleviate a dire shortage of human organs for transplant. The procedure done at NYU Langone Health in New York City […] Read more
Regulations on gene-edited crops to be eased in England
London | Reuters — Britain’s farming and environment minister George Eustice announced Wednesday that regulations related to gene editing in agricultural research would be eased in England following a public consultation. Rules will now largely be aligned with conventional breeding methods for research and development into plants although scientists will still be required to notify […] Read more
France backs non-GMO regulation for crop gene-editing in EU
Paris | Reuters — France sees crops developed using gene-editing techniques as different to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and opposes a European Union court decision to put them under strict GMO regulations, the country’s agriculture minister said. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in 2018 that mutagenesis, among so-called new breeding techniques (NBT) based […] Read more
USDA limits review requirements of some biotech farm products
Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Thursday a rule that will simplify or waive agency reviews of certain biotech farm products, including plants and seeds that have been genetically modified or engineered. As a result, some products could be sold to farmers without a USDA review — a move that […] Read more
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