Gene-edited food growth and sale have been legalized in England following the approval of the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act on March 23 by the UK government. The new law enables farmers to cultivate crops that resist drought and disease, create pesticide-free species and breed animals immune to dangerous illnesses. Although the government called it a Brexit achievement, opposition groups and animal welfare advocates have protested against the development and marketing of “edited” animals, and 87% of individual responses in a government consultation expressed concerns about gene-editing risks, insisting that it should continue to be regulated as genetically modified organisms (GMO).
England allows commercial gene-edited food despite public objections.
