Agriculture R&D Implications of the CJEU's Gene-Specific Mutagenesis Ruling

Stuart J Smyth; Rim Lassoued

doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2018.09.004

Agriculture R&D Implications of the CJEU's Gene-Specific Mutagenesis Ruling

Trends Biotechnol. 2019 Apr;37(4):337-340. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2018.09.004. Epub 2018 Oct 4.

Authors

Stuart J Smyth¹, Rim Lassoued²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada. Electronic address: stuart.smyth@usask.ca.
² Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.

PMID: 30293646
DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2018.09.004

Abstract

On 25 July 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that gene-specific mutagenesis must be regulated as genetically modified organism (GMO) technologies. However, the costs to agricultural research and development (R&D) innovation will be staggering, not to mention the brain drain to other countries. As a result, Europe can now be known as the deathplace of agricultural breeding innovations.

Keywords: CRISPR; agricultural innovation; expert opinion; food security; new breeding techniques.

MeSH terms

Agriculture / legislation & jurisprudence*
Agriculture / methods*
European Union
Food Safety*
Mutagenesis*
Organisms, Genetically Modified / growth & development*
Research / economics*