Gene edited foods back on the menu – what are they and what’s changed? – ABC News

Scientists Jonathan Napier and Cathie Martin remember when they needed armed guards and high fences to protect their research sites.

Genetically modified (GM) food crops were the target of activists concerned about genetic engineering.

But the strict laws governing their crops are now rapidly changing.

So are the definitions of what gets called a GM food and what doesn't.

What could this mean for your dinner plate? And have scientists learnt anything from the heated debates around GM about better involving citizens in decisions around their research?

GUESTS

Simon BurallSenior associate, InvolveMember, Nuffield Council on Bioethics

Professor Michael JonesProfessor of agricultural biotechnologyFoundation of the WA State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre

Professor Cathie MartinPlant scientistJohn Innes Centre, UK

Professor Jonathan NapierPlant scientist and metabolic engineerRothamsted Research, UK@johnathannapie1

FURTHER INFORMATION

Biofortified tomatoes provide a new route to vitamin D sufficiency (Nature, 2022)

CRISPR editing of plants and animals gets green light in Australia. Now what? (2019)

Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (UK)

Nuffield Council commentary on the UK's Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill

Australia's gene technology regulatory system

CRISPR co-inventor Jennifer Doudna, and debating the ethics of gene editing (Science Friction, 2018)

Making happier animals? Gene editing in the farm-yard (Science Friction, 2017)

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Gene edited foods back on the menu - what are they and what's changed? - ABC News