Letter by Michael Antoniou (Professor of Molecular Genetics and Toxicology Co-Director King’s College London) and Claire Robinson (GMWatch)
Dear Minister Zeichner,
Following your recent announcement of the government’s intention to proceed with secondary
legislation to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act, we are writing to inform
you that several elements must be included in the secondary legislation in order that it is based on
solid scientific grounds and contains robust protections for health and the environment.
As it stands, the Act does not contain measures that would ensure that genetically modified
organisms (GMOs) designated as “precision bred” could have resulted from traditional processes
and are as safe for human or animal consumption and the environment as traditionally bred
organisms. In other words, the Act does not ensure that these GMOs are in fact “precision bred”.
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