Towards social acceptability of genome-edited plants in industrialised countries? Emerging evidence from Europe, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan

Abstract

The agricultural biotechnology world has been divided into two blocks; countries adopting GM crops for commercial cultivation (adopters) and others without any or without relevant cultivation of such crops (non-adopters). Meanwhile, an increasing number of adopter countries have exempted certain genome-edited (GE) crops from legal GMO pre-market approval and labelling requirements. Among them are major exporters of agricultural commodities such as United States, Canada, and Australia. Due to the relaxed legislation more GE plants are expected to enter the market soon. Many countries in the non-adopter group, however, depend on import of large volumes of agricultural commodities from adopter countries. Unlike first generation GM, certain GE crops cannot be identified as unambiguously originating from genome editing using available techniques. Consequently, pressure is mounting on non-adopter jurisdictions to reconsider their policies and legislations. Against this backdrop, the paper explores recent developments relevant for social acceptability in selected non-adopters, Japan, New Zealand, the EU, Norway, and Switzerland in contrast to United States, Canada, and Australia. While Japan is already opening-up and Norway and Switzerland are discussing revisions of their policies, the EU and New Zealand are struggling with challenges resulting from high court decisions. In an attempt to take a closer look into the inner dynamics of these developments, the concept of social acceptability proposed by Wüstenhagen et al. (Energy Policy, 2007, 35(5), 2683–2691) is employed. This aids the understanding of developments in the jurisdictions considered and identifies specific or cross-cutting challenges.

Development of a Tetracycline-Inducible System for Conditional Gene Expression in Lactococcus lactis and Streptococcus thermophilus

“…Microbes generated by such means are classified as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) under current legislation. This prohibits their application in any relevant food applications in the European Union, although regulations appear more permissive in other countries ( 70 , 71 ). Nonetheless, genetic engineering of industrially relevant strains can advance our understanding of complex cellular mechanisms and traits, which can eventually provide insights for the generation of enhanced strains by natural improvement strategies.…”

The moderating role of perceived health risks on the acceptance of genetically modified food

“…The type and purpose of modification stand out as the pivotal factors shaping attitudes toward various biotechnological methods ( 21 , 22 ). As an illustration, a study on willingness-to-pay involving 713 participants ( 23 ) and 843 consumers ( 24 ) revealed the following preference order: (i) Organic; (ii) Cis- or transgenic with environmental benefits (pesticide-free crop cultivation); (iii) Conventional; (iv) Cisgenic; (v) Transgenic.…”

CRISPR/Cas Genome Editing Technologies for Plant Improvement against Biotic and Abiotic Stresses: Advances, Limitations, and Future Perspectives

“…In recent years, CRISPR/Cas has worked as a revolutionary tool with high efficiency to perform targeted GE, and it continues to progress rapidly through the invention of new CRISPR-based editing tools to achieve different goals of genome engineering, such as higher yield, pathogen-resistance, improved nutrients efficiency, and abiotic tolerance in crop species [ 189 , 228 , 229 , 230 , 231 , 232 ]. Many countries such as the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, and Australia have exempted GE plants of SDN1-type and derived food and feed from their GMO legislation or allowed commercialization based on a simplified case-by-case procedure [ 233 , 234 ]. This will trigger the development of new plant varieties and a range of genome-edited plant products with minor genetic changes are expected to enter the global commodity market soon [ 63 ].…”