China food security: new draft rules ‘open the door’ for gene-edited crops

Name: High-tech greenhouse boom in China after food shortages during Covid-19 lockdowns
Uploaded: 2022-01-25T06:36:27.000Z
Duration: 1 min 59 s
Description: High-tech greenhouse boom in China after food shortages during Covid-19 lockdowns

The draft rules stipulate that once gene-edited plants have completed pilot trials, a production certificate can be applied for

Gene editing is a newer technology that is seen as less risky than GM because it does not involve adding any foreign genes to a plant

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Reuters

Published: 2:36pm, 25 Jan 2022

China has published trial rules for the approval of gene-edited plants, paving the way for faster improvements to crops.

The new guidelines, published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs late on Monday, come amid a raft of measures aimed at overhauling the country’s seed industry, which is seen as a weak link in efforts to ensure national food security.

Beijing has also recently passed new regulations that set out a clear path for approval for genetically modified (GM) crops.

Gene editing is a newer technology that is seen as less risky than GM because it does not involve adding any foreign genes to a plant.

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High-tech greenhouse boom in China after food shortages during Covid-19 lockdowns

Instead, scientists ‘edit’ or alter genes already in a plant to improve or change its performance, aiming for better yields or increased nutrients.