Nutritional Insight
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • SERVICES
  • PUBLICATIONS
  • INSIGHTS
  • CONTACT
Featured Posts
  • New Diet and Nutrition Survey Data in the UK – Latest Insights.
  • Nutritional Insight – 2020 Roundup
  • Webinar Wisdoms
  • Choline, Neurological Development and Brain Function: A  Focus on the First 1000 Days

  • Is there Scope for a Novel Mycelium Category of Proteins alongside Animals and Plants?

  • Is there a Role for Immunonutrition in the Over 65s?

  • COVID-19 and Why the Aged Should be Swiftly reminded to take their Vitamin D.
  • Genome-Edited Foods: Are they Coming to our Supermarkets Soon?
  • Green and Blue Water Footprints: What Are They & How Do They Relate to Food?
  • Stress and Micronutrient Concentrations: Do They Impact Each Other?
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • SERVICES
  • PUBLICATIONS
  • INSIGHTS
  • CONTACT
Followers
Subscribe
Nutritional Insight
Nutritional Insight
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • SERVICES
  • PUBLICATIONS
  • INSIGHTS
  • CONTACT
  • All

Genome-Edited Foods: Are they Coming to our Supermarkets Soon?

  • Posted on February 3, 2020
Total
0
Shares
0
0

Genetically modified (GM) foods were first introduced and approved for human consumption in the 1990s in the United States (US) and about 90% of corn, cotton and soybeans grown in the US today are GM. GM crops are grown in both developed and developing countries around the world by millions of farmers on millions of acres of arable land.

GM foods have had their genome engineered in the laboratory to express a desired physiological trait. This is achieved by using genetic engineering to transfer or introduce new genes. Typically, foods are engineered to have added benefits to increase yields and nutrients, or to combat resistance and tolerance to environmental stresses. For example, if you want a crop to grow better in cold weather you can add a gene from an animal that has adapted to live in freezing water.

Most scientists, and international bodies such as the National Academies of Science, the World Health Organisation, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health agree that GM foods are safe to eat and do not pose any unique health risks to humans. Yet back then consumers were placed outside of their comfort zones and with instinctive fears of scientific and technological innovation, GM foods were labelled as ‘Frankenfoods’.

How is Genome Editing Different?

Genome edited foods are similar to GM foods, but foreign genes from other species are NOT added to the food crop as is the case for genetically modified foods. With genome editing, specific genes are cut out, turned off, or a variation to the gene is introduced creating a higher yielding, disease-resistant and more nutritious crop without the need to use pesticides or herbicides. But nothing new is added to the genome, and in essence, nature is being perfected. In order to achieve this a relatively new technique, termed CRISPR, is utilised. CRISPR is highly precise, and makes genome editing simpler, cheaper and significantly faster. The changes to the crop’s genome are permanent and can be passed on through seeds.

Does the Food Industry Need Genome-Edited Crops?

Food scientists are using CRISPR to try and solve many food-related challenges. Genome-edited crops have the potential to keep croplands productive despite climate change and they also have the potential to reduce the need for fertilisers. Furthermore, CRISPR could potentially be used to make raising livestock more efficient, more sustainable and more humane. With CRISPR, food scientists are able to precisely target and cut any part of the genome, thus editing any chosen genetic material. What this means, for example, is that CRISPR is able to remove the gene that causes certain fruits or vegetables to turn brown after a few days, simply by removing the gene that causes it.

Currently, plant geneticist, Zach Lippman at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, is using CRISPR to genetically modify cherry tomatoes. Lippman has tweaked three genes in order for the tomatoes to have shorter stems and be more tightly clustered, akin to grapevines, in order to make them suitable for large-scale urban agriculture.

A paper published in Nature Biotechnology last year has reported that scientists have developed a rice crop that it resistant to bacterial blight. They utilised CRISPR to edit the genome of the crop to introduce five mutations to SWEET gene promoters that are implicated in disease susceptibility. The scientists conclude that the genome-edited SWEET promoters provide rice crops with robust, broad-spectrum resistance. This research shows the potential use of CRISPR to aid the evolution of our food systems to feed the growing world population in an effective, affordable way for the good of the planet.

Regulating GM and Genome-Edited Foods

In Europe, GM foods have to undergo extensive regulatory approval before going to market, however this is not globally the case. In North America, regulators generally look at final outcomes and not the process used to get to there. This is contrary to the European Union (EU), which generally regulates based on the process used to make the food. In the EU, labelling is required on all food products containing more than 0.9% of approved GM ingredients and must be traceable to its origin. North America has a voluntary GM labelling policy, which means that the consumer may not be able to tell whether the food they are buying in a supermarket contains GM ingredients or not. The EU intends to maintain rigorous regulation and labelling of genome-edited ingredients, similar to the current standards for GM ingredients. However, in certain countries, such as the US and Canada, genome-edited foods do not have to undergo a risk assessment as it is deemed that genome-editing is simply an extension of traditional plant breeding and thus no approval is necessary.

Some food scientists argue that we don’t yet know enough about the CRISPR technology, and have concerns that there may be unintended effects to the food crop that we currently do not know or realise.

And what will the regulations be in the UK post leaving the EU? The UK will no longer have to adhere to the EUs traditionally cautious approach to biotechnology in food and agriculture, and would be able to grow its own GM and genome-edited crops, which would not only reduce our carbon footprint but could also put the UK at the forefront of the bioscience sector to develop disease-resistant crops able to feed the worlds growing population. Yet should we be regulating and labelling our foods that contain GM or genome-edited ingredients? Leaving the EU could also see the UK securing a trade agreement with North America and thus the import of unregulated and unlabelled GM and genome-edited foods.

Concluding Remarks

It is imperative that consumes are better educated regarding the facts surrounding genome-edited foods, and that this novel promising technology should not be brushed off or become the victim of scaremongering. However, it is equally as important to fully understand the technology and to not underestimate any potential risk. Consumers need to understand the difference between GM crops and genome-edited crops by CRISPR, which is essentially ‘fine-tuning’ nature, and as such the regulation and labelling being entirely separate for each method of genetic modification. Ultimately, any investigation on genome-edited foods must focus on the end product, and whether CRISPR has the potential to solve the real and urgent problems of our food supply.

References

Ricardo Oliva et al. (2019). Broad-spectrum resistance to bacterial blight in rice using genome editing. Nature Biotechnology volume 37, pages 1344–1350:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-019-0267-z

Here’s what Canadians need to know about genetically modified and gene-edited foods. Published by CTV News:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/here-s-what-canadians-need-to-know-about-genetically-modified-and-gene-edited-foods-1.4775090

Gene editing could revolutionize the food industry, but it’ll have to fight the PR war GMO foods lost. Published by CBC Radio:
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/the-sunday-edition-for-january-12-2020-1.5416826/gene-editing-could-revolutionize-the-food-industry-but-it-ll-have-to-fight-the-pr-war-gmo-foods-lost-1.5416827

Total
0
Shares
Tweet 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • Future of Nutrition
  • Genome editing
Nutritional Insight

Previous Article
  • All

Green and Blue Water Footprints: What Are They & How Do They Relate to Food?

  • Posted on November 4, 2019November 4, 2019
View Post
Next Article
  • All

COVID-19 and Why the Aged Should be Swiftly reminded to take their Vitamin D.

  • Posted on March 20, 2020
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • All

Webinar Wisdoms

  • Posted on September 24, 2020September 24, 2020
View Post
  • All

COVID-19 and Why the Aged Should be Swiftly reminded to take their Vitamin D.

  • Posted on March 20, 2020
View Post
  • All

Green and Blue Water Footprints: What Are They & How Do They Relate to Food?

  • Posted on November 4, 2019November 4, 2019
View Post
  • All

Stress and Micronutrient Concentrations: Do They Impact Each Other?

  • Posted on November 4, 2019November 4, 2019
View Post
  • All

Does the Nutrition Education of Physicians Need Advancing?

  • Posted on September 27, 2019September 27, 2019
View Post
  • All

Palm Oil: Should it Be Given the Same Attention as Single Use Plastics?

  • Posted on September 27, 2019September 27, 2019
View Post
  • All

Folic Acid Fortification: Assessing the Folate Status of Women After 20 Years of Fortification in the US

  • Posted on September 27, 2019September 27, 2019
View Post
  • All

Vegetarian and Vegan Diets: Good for Gut Microbiota?

  • Posted on September 19, 2019
Categories
  • 2020
  • 2021
  • about
  • All
  • Allergy
  • Before Pregnancy
  • Brain Health
  • Brexit
  • Calories
  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • Children
  • Children's Health
  • choline
  • Clean Labelling
  • Conception
  • Depression
  • Diabetes
  • Dietary Patterns
  • Drug Production
  • Eggs
  • Environutrition
  • Evidence-base
  • Fertility
  • Folic Acid
  • food and nutrition trends
  • Food Processing
  • Future Directions
  • Growing Up
  • Guidelines
  • Health
  • health trends
  • Marketing
  • Medical Diet
  • Microbiota
  • Micronutrients
  • Mid-Life
  • Mycoprotein
  • Novel Methods
  • Nutrition
  • Nutrition Exit
  • Nutrition Science
  • nutrition trends
  • nutritional insight
  • Obesity
  • Omega
  • Palm Oil
  • PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
  • Planetary Health
  • Probiotics
  • Protein Distribution
  • Protein Quality
  • Protein Shift
  • Puddings
  • Regulations
  • Research
  • Sugar
  • Supplements
  • Surveillance
  • Sustainable Eating
  • Sweet cherries
  • Tea
  • The Fast 800
  • Ultra Processing
  • Uncategorized
  • Vertical Farming
Featured Posts
  • Webinar Wisdoms
  • Choline, Neurological Development and Brain Function: A  Focus on the First 1000 Days

  • Is there Scope for a Novel Mycelium Category of Proteins alongside Animals and Plants?

  • Is there a Role for Immunonutrition in the Over 65s?

  • COVID-19 and Why the Aged Should be Swiftly reminded to take their Vitamin D.
Subscription Form
Keep Up to Date
Design By
SEVENTEEN
Frequently Searched
ADHD Almonds Antibiotic resistance Assessment Brexit Cardiac Health Children Choline Chrono-Nutrition Chronotype COVID-19 Depression Drug production Eggs Evidence-base Folic Acid Future of Nutrition Future Trends Growing Up Guidelines Health Health Science Information Era Microbiota micronutrients Minerals Novel methods Nutritional Profiling Nutrition and Health Claims Nutrition Exit Omega Orthorexia Polyphenols Precision Nutrition Protein Distribution Protein Quality Ratios Red Meat Registered Nutritionists Regulations Supplements Synergy Vertical Farming Vitamin D Vitamins
Nutritional Insight
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • SERVICES
  • PUBLICATIONS
  • INSIGHTS
  • CONTACT

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.