Questions surrounding labelling, animal welfare and the impact on devolved nations have been raised regarding the Government’s Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill, which had its third reading in Parliament this week.
According to Ministers, the Bill is designed to ‘unlock new technologies to boost food production and support farmers to grow more productive crops’, while paving the way for ‘Britain to become the best place in the world to invest in agri-food research and innovation’.
However, Labour Shadow Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner, branded it ‘a vague, thin Bill’ which ‘lacked effective regulatory framework’.
Mr Zeichner pointed to public concerns about animal welfare, insisting safeguards should be put in place to ensure gene editing would not mean animals were ‘kept in poorer, more crowded, stressful conditions’.
He also said studies by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) had made it clear consumers ‘overwhelmingly want effective regulation of gene-edited products, with transparent information and clear labelling’.
He said: “The Government are trying to gloss over the issues by inventing the entirely non-scientific term ‘precision breeding’. Frankly, it has been invented by the Government for their convenience and is a misnomer.
“There is a risk that, as worded, the Bill will allow trans-genetic transfer - effectively, genetic modification through the back door. I know the Government deny and dispute that, but I and many others remain unconvinced.”
Mr Zeichner’s claims were dismissed by Farming Minister Mark Spencer, who insisted a new FSA authorisation process would ensure products only go on sale if they present no risk to health and do not mislead consumers.
