An assessment of the linkages between GM crop biotechnology and climate change mitigation.

This article provides an analysis and evaluation of peer-reviewed evidence on the contribution of crop biotechnology to climate change mitigation and adaption. While there is a range of agricultural technologies and products that contribute to climate change mitigation, this literature landscape analysis focuses on the development of genetically modified traits, their use and adoption in major commodity crops and responsive changes in production techniques. Jointly, these technologies and products are contributing to climate change mitigation, yet the technology, the literature and evidence is still evolving as more sophisticated research methods are used with greater consistency. The literature analysis is undertaken with consideration of the consequential impact that regulatory regimes have on technology development. This assessment utilizes the Maryland Scientific Methods Scale and citation analysis, concluding that GM crops provide benefits that contribute to climate change mitigation.

Agricultural chemical use and the rural-urban divide in Canada.

Innovation is of fundamental importance for improving food production, as well as sustainability food production. Since 1960, food production has benefited from innovations in plant breeding technologies, fertilizer, chemicals and equipment. These innovations have dramatically increased food production, while the amount of land used has minimally increased. However, future food production increases are jeopardized from widening knowledge gaps between rural food producers and large urban food consuming populations. Over time, that gap has fueled disinformation. The development of disinformation business models contributes to urban consumers receiving inaccurate information about the importance of inputs essential to food production, resulting in political pressures being applied that are targeted at reductions in the use of many food production inputs. The use of chemicals are a frequent target of disinformation campaigns. This article examines how the lack of government clarity about the safe use of chemicals contributes to a lack of public information.

Risk-appropriate regulations for gene-editing technologies.

This paper explores the scope for the newly emerging technologies, based on gene editing (GE) contributing to addressing the global challenges that we face. These challenges relate to food security, climate change and biodiversity depletion. In particular, it examines the science and evidence behind the most appropriate forms of agricultural production to meet these challenges, the targets set in the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) agreed to at the end of 2022 and the possible role of GE technologies in contributing to meeting these targets. It then examines the most risk-appropriate regulatory environment required to best facilitate the adoption of GE technology, drawing on the experiences of the impact of regulatory systems for other innovations used in agricultural and food production systems such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Costa Rican consumer perceptions of gene-editing.

Costa Rica's rice production, a large determinant of the country's food security, is being negatively impacted by frequently increasing periods of intense drought. Costa Rican scientists have applied CRISPR/Cas9 to develop drought resistant rice varieties they believe the country's rice producers could benefit from. However, would Costa Ricans consume gene edited rice or products derived from this crop? A three-part, 26-question survey administered in-person to 1096 Costa Ricans uncovers their attitudes, knowledge, and perceptions of gene editing technology and crops. Multiple regressions were built where the independent variables were age, gender, education level, and subjective economic situation. No statistically significant relationships were found in the regression coefficients. Moreover, the k-means procedure (cluster analysis) was used to categorize respondents according to their attitudes on the consumption of gene-edited foods: negative, neutral, and positive. Results show that overall, Costa Rican consumers are open to the application of gene editing in agriculture and would consider consuming products derived from the application of the technology. They are also open to gene editing technology being used to address human and animal health issues. However, Costa Rican consumers are not open to gene editing being used to "design" human traits. This study adds evidence to the emerging literature on the acceptance of gene-edited food. It also highlights the importance of informing societies of just how vulnerable agriculture, and therefore food security, is to the increasingly adverse effects of climate change.

The cost of not adopting new agricultural food biotechnologies.

Achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require additional innovation investments and increased adoption of resulting technologies. This will be particularly important for improving food security, crop nutrient availability, and sustainability. This article presents some of the global costs of not adopting genetically modified (GM) crops and genome editing breeding.

Contributions of Genome Editing Technologies Towards Improved Nutrition, Environmental Sustainability and Poverty Reduction.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched in 2015, with the top three goals being poverty eradication, improved food security and increased human health. All 17 SDGs have a target achievement date of 2030. These are ambitious and inspirational goals that require substantial innovation and technology adoption for successful achievement. Innovations in plant breeding have substantially contributed to transforming the efficiency of food production since the mid 20th century, with innovations emerging in the current millennium demonstrating enhanced potential to improve crop yields, the nutritional values of food crops and environmental impacts. These outcomes underpin several SDGs, but in particular the first three. As climate change is expected to become increasingly variable, with greater impacts on agriculture, the ability to ensure increased food production is going to be increasingly important, as higher yields directly contribute to reducing poverty. This article reviews recent reports of potential contributions from genome editing technologies in terms of increased yield, enhanced nutrition and greater sustainability, highlighting their importance for achieving the leading three SDGs.

Canadian Consumer Preferences Regarding Gene-Edited Food Products.

Innovations in food production and processing have largely remained "behind the scenes" for decades. The current nature of social media and calls for increased transparency regarding food results in a new landscape where consumer product demands are more important than ever, but are increasingly based on limited, or incorrect, information. One area where consumer awareness is rapidly emerging is the area of gene-edited food products. This article uses a consumer survey to gather perceptions regarding food safety, gene editing and willingness to consume for three gene-edited food products. Four factors were found to strongly influence consumer perceptions: trust in the Canadian food safety system; food technology neophobia scores; knowledge of genetics; and self-knowledge of gene editing. The survey of 497 Canadians found that 15% identified as neophobics and 12% as neophilics. The majority of participants identified as neutral. When presented with various food values, participants indicated that nutrition, price, and taste were the three most important values. A participants' willingness to consume gene-edited food products strongly correlated with neophobic and neophilic preferences, with neophobics unwilling to consume and neophilics being uncertain. The only food value that strongly affects consumer willingness to consume is the environmental impact of a products' production. Canadian consumers have a moderate to high level of trust in Canada's food safety system, but this level of trust fails to carry over to food products produced through innovative technologies; however, consumers express a higher level of trust in gene-edited technology than genetically modified technology.

Economic surplus implications of Mexico's decision to phaseout genetically modified maize imports.

The Mexican government has decided to ban imports of genetically modified (GM) maize, to rely on agroecology for maize production to satisfy domestic yellow maize requirements. No economic impact assessment of this policy decision was made public, and the implications of this decision for users of yellow maize and consumers are significant. This article measures the economic surplus generated from Mexican GM yellow maize imports and domestic conventional yellow maize production over the last 20 years, and projects the economic surplus generated over five years from adopting agroecology for yellow maize production. We explore three likely scenarios and find that in all of them, yellow maize processors lose almost twice as much economic surplus as producers. In the most conservative loss estimate (Scenario 1), the surplus loss in five years is equivalent to 35% of the economic surplus generated over the last 21 years from GM maize imports and domestic Mexican conventional production. In all simulated Scenarios, between 2024 and 2025 the price of a metric ton of yellow maize will increase 81percent because of the change in production systems (from conventional to agroecology). These financial losses will ultimately factor into the prices consumers pay for poultry and red meat products, resulting in higher domestic retail food prices.

The future of genome editing innovations in the EU.

The European Commission (EC) recommends that policy within the EU should consider how to make the regulation of new genomic techniques 'more resilient, future-proof and uniformly applied' than is presently the case. In this article, we explore what this might mean for the EU and what solutions might exist.

Data challenges for future plant gene editing: expert opinion.

Agricultural data in its multiple forms are ubiquitous. With progress in crop and input monitoring systems and price reductions over the past decade, data are now being captured at an unprecedented rate. Once compiled, organized and analyzed, these data are capable of providing valuable insights into much of the agri-food supply chain. While much of the focus is on precision farming, agricultural data applications coupled with gene editing tools hold the potential to enhance crop performance and global food security. Yet, digitization of agriculture is a double-edged sword as it comes with inherent security and privacy quandaries. Infrastructure, policies, and practices to better harness the value of data are still lacking. This article reports expert opinions about the potential challenges regarding the use of data relevant to the development and approval of new crop traits as well as mechanisms employed to manage and protect data. While data could be of great value, issues of intellectual property and accessibility surround many of its forms. The key finding of this research is that surveyed experts optimistically report that by 2030, the synergy of computing power and genome editing could have profound effects on the global agri-food system, but that the European Union may not participate fully in this transformation.

Removing politics from innovations that improve food security.

Genetically modified (GM) organisms and crops have been a feature of food production for over 30 years. Despite extensive science-based risk assessment, the public and many politicians remain concerned with the genetic manipulation of crops, particularly food crops. Many governments have addressed public concern through biosafety legislation and regulatory frameworks that identify and regulate risks to ensure human health and environmental safety. These domestic regulatory frameworks align to international scientific risk assessment methodologies on a case-by-case basis. Regulatory agencies in 70 countries around the world have conducted in excess of 4400 risk assessments, all reaching the same conclusion: GM crops and foods that have been assessed provide no greater risk to human health or the environment than non-GM crops and foods. Yet, while the science regarding the safety of GM crops and food appears conclusive and societal benefits have been globally demonstrated, the use of innovative products have only contributed minimal improvements to global food security. Regrettably, politically-motivated regulatory barriers are currently being implemented with the next genomic innovation, genome editing, the implications of which are also discussed in this article. A decade of reduced global food insecurity was witnessed from 2005 to 2015, but regrettably, the figure has subsequently risen. Why is this the case? Reasons have been attributed to climate variability, biotic and abiotic stresses, lack of access to innovative technologies and political interference in decision making processes. This commentary highlights how political interference in the regulatory approval process of GM crops is adversely affecting the adoption of innovative, yield enhancing crop varieties, thereby limiting food security opportunities in food insecure economies.

Regulatory approaches for genome edited agricultural plants in select countries and jurisdictions around the world.

Genome editing in agriculture and food is leading to new, improved crops and other products. Depending on the regulatory approach taken in each country or region, commercialization of these crops and products may or may not require approval from the respective regulatory authorities. This paper describes the regulatory landscape governing genome edited agriculture and food products in a selection of countries and regions.

Expert opinions on the regulation of plant genome editing.

Global food security is largely affected by factors such as environmental (e.g. drought, flooding), social (e.g. gender inequality), socio-economic (e.g. overpopulation, poverty) and health (e.g. diseases). In response, extensive public and private investment in agricultural research has focused on increasing yields of staple food crops and developing new traits for crop improvement. New breeding techniques pioneered by genome editing have gained substantial traction within the last decade, revolutionizing the plant breeding field. Both industry and academia have been investing and working to optimize the potentials of gene editing and to bring derived crops to market. The spectrum of cutting-edge genome editing tools along with their technical differences has led to a growing international regulatory, ethical and societal divide. This article is a summary of a multi-year survey project exploring how experts view the risks of new breeding techniques, including genome editing and their related regulatory requirements. Surveyed experts opine that emerging biotechnologies offer great promise to address social and climate challenges, yet they admit that the market growth of genome-edited crops will be limited by an ambiguous regulatory environment shaped by societal uncertainty.

Impacts on International Research Collaborations from DSI/ABS Uncertainty.

Digital sequence information (DSI) has no clear definition. Numerous countries define DSI as a nonphysical genetic resources, such as genetic sequence data. Restricting free sharing of DSI is at odds with fundamental science core principles in disciplines like microbiology and molecular genetics. It has the potential to adversely affect international research collaborations.

Genetically modified maize impacts in Honduras: production and social issues.

Maize production is one of the most important activities for the Honduran economy, both in terms of area cultivated and food security provided. This article reports the results of a survey undertaken to gauge knowledge, perceptions, opinions, and attitudes of Honduran farmers towards genetically modified (GM) maize. Data were collected from 32 maize producers in 2018-19, of both conventional and GM, in five different departments (regions) of Honduras. Results show that over 75% of interviewed farmers have significant knowledge of basic biotechnology concepts and GM maize. Overall, producers have a positive opinion about GM maize because yields are higher than conventional maize, and adopting farmers have higher incomes. A significant finding was the reduction in the number of necessary pesticide applications, 84% of interviewees who used GM maize did not apply any pesticides. Farmers indicate the two main reasons for using GM maize are higher incomes (48%) and ease of use of the crop (33%). Overall, GM maize impacts in Honduras could be greater if the federal government took on a more proactive role in knowledge dissemination and facilitation of credit access.

Regulatory barriers to improving global food security.

Crop agriculture and food production constantly face climactic challenges to the supply of safe, nutritious food. These challenges highlight the importance of innovation resulting in improved crop technologies, capable of providing consistently increasing yields in the face of abiotic and biotic stresses. This article addresses the challenge that regulatory barriers are, and can, have on the adoption of innovative crop and food technologies that improve food security. Evidence of increased crop yield and the potential for increased yields, are presented from innovative plant breeding technologies, especially gene editing. Recent advances from the use of gene editing in the pharmaceutical field may offer opportunities to reduce regulatory burdens.

Evidence-based policy making: determining what is evidence.

In the era of evidence-based policy, framing and assessing the core evidence is fundamental to our ability to use research in support of public policy. In a world of almost exponentially expanding scholarly publication, it is becoming harder to define what is known. This article reviews the basic theories of knowledge, the context for sorting through and summarizing that knowledge and a number of options available, and used, to assemble the knowledge base for research and policy work. The authors undertook a summative process in the domain of biotechnology, agriculture and development and offer insights into the comparative methods and their impacts on the outcome. A population sample of 421 articles was gathered. Four methods-expert Delphi, citation analysis, social network analysis and peer evaluation-were used to select the 51 pieces for inclusion and analysis in the core literature. That analysis shows that each process delivered a different set of evidence. The potential for bias in knowledge assessment can challenge policy makers in their process of reviewing evidence that rationalizes policy.

How should we regulate products of new breeding techniques? Opinion of surveyed experts in plant biotechnology.

The adoption of genome editing depends among others, on a clear and navigable regulatory framework that renders consistent decisions. Some countries like the United States decided to deregulate specific transgene-free genome edited products that could be created through traditional breeding and are not considered to be plant pests, while others are still challenged to fit emerging technologies in their regulatory system. Here we poll international experts in plant biotechnology on what approach should nations agree upon to accommodate current and future new breeding technologies and derived products. A key finding is product-based models or dual-product/process systems are viewed as potential appropriate frameworks to regulate outcomes of genome editing. As regulation of novel products of biotechnology is expected to impact research and trade, we test the impact of experts' worldviews on these issues. Results show that region influences worldviews of trade but not of agricultural innovation. In contrast, there was no effect of experts' worldviews on how products of novel biotechnologies should be regulated.

CRISPR-Cas9 Application in Canadian Public and Private Plant Breeding.

Plant-breeding technologies have expanded, accelerating breeding research beyond the confines of current regulations. The application of genome editing, such as CRISPR-Cas9, do not neatly fit into existing regulatory frameworks, creating uncertainty as to whether they can be regarded as conventionally developed varieties without further regulation. This research presents the current views of Canadian plant breeders based on a national survey of plant breeders. There is evidence that a review of existing regulations is required, as >60% anticipate the use of genome-editing technologies in the next few years. This paper reviews plant-breeding practices under the context of present plants with novel trait (PNT) regulations and where plant breeders place the use of CRISPR-Cas9 within the suite of available genome-editing options. This paper establishes when and why, or why not, breeders choose to introduce CRISPR-Cas9 into their research over other plant-breeding applications.

Regulatory Barriers to Innovative Plant Breeding in Canada.

The regulation of plant breeding is gaining increasing scrutiny, particularly as it pertains to the regulation of gene editing and other new breeding technologies. Genome editing is used worldwide in both public and private plant breeding laboratories and there is considerable uncertainty about the ability of regulatory agencies to match the rapid scientific pace being set. This research focuses on Canada, where advances in plant breeding technology are constrained by the boundaries of the regulatory system established in the early 1990's. This research presents the results of a survey of 93 public and private plant breeders and their views on the existing Canadian regulatory framework regarding conventional breeding and genome editing techniques for plants with novel traits (PNTs). The results contribute to the ongoing debate regarding how, or whether, to regulate products of genome-edited plant breeding, beyond the existing agronomic and safety requirements. Plant breeders identify the level of Canadian crop research competitiveness and quantify the impacts of novelty within Canada's regulatory system for PNTs. One significant finding is that PNT regulations in Canada have created an innovation barrier in terms of applying genome editing technologies to the development of new varieties, particularly in public sector research.