Response to DEFRA Consultation on “The Regulation of Genetic Technologies” Submitted by email, 17/3/2021

The example of the BSE (or Mad Cow Disease) saga demonstrated that an initial investment of some £20 million pounds in the mid-1980s, to eradicate BSE infected material from the UK’s herds and feed chain, would have avoided the UK government subsequently incurring costs of some £20 billions in the aftermath of the admission in March 1996 that meat from infected cattle was causing cases on new-vari. [...] Therefore we have assumed the continued integrity of the UK’s internal market and responded on the basis of the decisions facing the UK. [...] Whilst individual instances of gene editing may not, on their own, affect the “risk of harm to human health or the environment”, the potential for rapid and widespread use of gene editing in the UK and internationally increases uncertainties and limits our ability to foresee or to manage risks, should they appear. [...] The specific effects will depend on the type of commodity and the nature of the trading relationship, for example, whether it is practically and economically feasible to segregate production and supply chains of GE and non-GE products or products intended for domestic vs. [...] PCR-based detection is often used in the detection and identification of GMOs, by detecting the presence of particular transgenes (see below) and could be applied in the case of GEOs.