Gene editing in the primary industries

The Royal Society at the end of last year sought feedback from the public on the use of gene editing in the primary industries.

Two discussion papers are available on their website and can be viewed at the following link: www.royalsociety.org.nz/what-we-do/our-expert-advice/all-expertadvice- papers/gene-editing-for-the-primary-industries/ These papers explore five scenarios of where gene editing could be used in New Zealand's primary industries to:

• Reduce environmental impact (reduce wilding pines)
• Respond to insect pests and environmental stress (improve forage grass)
• Speed up innovation (develop new apple varieties faster)
• Protect taonga species used in the primary industries (protect Mãnuka from disease)
• Provide new human health benefits (remove potential allergens from milk)

Each scenario highlights agricultural, ethical/social and legal considerations as well as risks and potential benefits. Feedback about your thoughts, ideas, questions or concerns about this technology were sought.

This is a great discussion point.

All primary sectors within New Zealand are going to have to address the topic of gene editing sooner or later. It is likely that key exporters such as Fonterra and Zespri will be key influencers in the conversation with government but equally important will be the feedback of individuals and organisations.

As we all know the planet is changing and plants have to adapt too if we are to provide enough food to feed future generations. We’ll likely have two billion more mouths to feed by mid-century—more than nine billion people. But sheer population growth isn’t the only reason we’ll need more food. The spread of prosperity across the world, especially in China and India, is driving an increased demand for meat, eggs and dairy, boosting pressure to grow more corn and soybeans to feed more cattle, pigs and chickens. If these trends continue, the double whammy of population growth and richer diets will require us to roughly double the amount of crops we grow by 2050.

The environmental challenges posed by agriculture are huge, and they’ll only become more pressing as we try to meet the growing need for food worldwide. Plant breeding is the essential platform for sustainable agriculture. Through innovation we can adapt to climate change whilst improving crop yields, food quality and food safety, benefiting everyone in the food chain, from farmers to consumers.

Whether gene editing has a place in this for New Zealand primary industries remains to be seen. As a primarily export nation we need to consider the implications of this technology in relation to our trading partners and their views.

It would appear that gene editing could be an incredible technology to drive key advances in plant breeding but whether that would detract from our ability to access markets, command high prices for our products and whether it would be accepted by New Zealand consumers is all up for discussion.

What will be interesting is that given 98% of the vegetables grown in New Zealand are from seed bred by global breeding companies, if these companies adopt gene editing then we as producers and consumers of vegetables will have no option but to embrace the technology as well, or be unable to import seed, grow crops and consume domestically produced vegetables.