New legislation will enable Norfolk-based research institutes and companies to lead the development of crops that have more disease resistance and climate resilience, less environmental impacts, and greater nutritional benefits.
Now that the UK has left the EU, the government has brought forward a Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill to move away from restrictive EU rules to develop food with a range of benefits. Precision breeding is a range of technologies, including gene editing, that enable DNA to be edited much more efficiently and precisely than current breeding techniques. These techniques enable beneficial traits that can also occur through traditional breeding and natural process. It does not involve introducing DNA from other organism so it is not genetic modification.
Norfolk through the Norwich Research Park has world-leading research institutes and companies that are developing the plants and food products of the future including wheat to increase resilience to climate change whilst maintaining higher yield and tomatoes that have higher level of levels of Vitamin D.
The Bill proposes a new approach to gene editing that reflects that independent expert advisers have concluded that gene edited crops “posed no greater risk than their traditionally bred or naturally arising counterparts.” This is a real opportunity for the UK to lead in catalysing investment in food science and innovation.
James called for the Bill to drive innovation, to commercialise products, and to boost our agri-tech sector that is based firmly on a proportionate approach.
Text of speech as drafted
"Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.
It is a pleasure to speak in this debate to support legislation that is part of the Brexit dividend that allows us to regulate to support innovation.
Unlike the stifling, overly complex EU regime, we have the exciting opportunity to take a proportionate, science-based approach to precision breeding.
This is part of the government’s focus on science and technology to drive economic growth.
And my county of Norfolk, and specifically the Norwich Research Park, is well placed to help realise these benefits as it is home to world leading research institutes and gene-editing companies – as well of course playing a crucial role in our food production.
It is important to be clear what this Bill is about, and what it is not.
Precision breeding that this Bill is focused on is about enabling DNA to be edited much more efficiently and precisely than current breeding techniques to produce beneficial traits.
Crucially, these are traits that can occur through traditional breeding and natural processes – indeed under clause 1 that is a requirement to be classified as a “precision-based organism.”
The process of gene-editing in crops was described to me as either stopping a gene or making it work harder.
It does not involve adding DNA from a different organism - so this Bill is not about genetically modified organisms.
Of course, people will wonder if these techniques are safe.
And the expert Independent Advisory committee on Releases to the Environment has stated that precision based organisms “posed no greater risk than their traditionally bred or naturally arising counterparts.”
By adopting a more agile regulatory approach the time taken to comply with existing GMO regulation for getting precision-bred crops to market will be cut from an estimated 10 years to just one.
While the traditional methods that plant breeders use to introduce traits can take up 8-15 years, this could be reduced to just a few years bringing about scientific development more rapidly, and at lower cost.
That is a huge win to accelerate innovation, and secure productivity and efficiency gains in crop production.
And the potential real world benefits are significant.
Take more disease resistant crops that reduce the need for pesticides and fertilisers…
My North West Norfolk constituency is home to sugar beet growers whose yield in recent years has been reduced significantly due to virus yellows.
To reduce that impact there have been emergency authorisations of Neonicotinoids.
But a UK Research and Innovation funded study has identified sources of genetic resistance that can be introduced through precision breeding.
This would reduce the need for pesticides, helping to protect the environment, increase food production, and reduce costs to farmers.
Then there is the potential for crops better able to withstand changing climates.
The John Innes Centre on the Norwich Research Park is using gene editing in wheat to increase resilience to climate change whilst maintaining higher yield.
Or health or nutritional benefits…
Again, the John Innes Centre is pioneering tomatoes that are gene-edited to produce high vitamin D. In addition, while tomato leaves are usually waste material, by editing the genes those leaves could be used to make vitamin D supplements.
The disproportionate regulation by the EU led to advanced breeding activities being moved outside the EU.
Now we have the opportunity through a more science-based and proportionate approach to get ahead of the game and drive innovation and attract inward investment.
And dare I say, our approach could even be a blueprint that the EU chooses to follow.
This is a real opportunity for the UK to lead in catalysing investment in food science and innovation.
And to do so on the basis that precision bred organisms that could have occurred naturally, or through conventional breeding methods, should not face unnecessary additional layers of regulation.
However, there are concerns among crop and plant breeder that power to introduce regulations under Part 3 of the Bill could see the introduction of additional hurdles that are not scientifically justified - new requirements that do not apply to conventionally bred crop varieties.
It is essential that we do not remove EU bureaucratic rules only to impose additional requirements through a precision-based organism regulatory system that are not proportionate or necessary.
That would undermine the very purpose of diverging from the EU approach.
So in conclusion, I look for an assurance from the minister that the opportunity to drive innovation, to commercialise products, and to boost our agri-tech sector will be based firmly on a proportionate approach.
