In May, the United Kingdom introduced a bill that would allow the commercial cultivation and sale of gene-edited crops, which are functionally banned under European Union regulations that still apply to the country. If it passes, the bill will increase the number of tools British farmers have to grow more resilient—and nutritious—food.
Since Brexit in January 2020, the British government has sought to move away from restrictive EU rules on gene-edited crops, or crops that are created by making precise changes to a plant’s DNA. Easing regulations, as former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s team argued earlier this year, would benefit the environment and align Britain with important trading partners. In March, Parliament approved new rules to make it easier for researchers to grow gene-edited crops outdoors in trials. But the new bill, called the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill, would be the most significant step the government has taken yet.
