Dozens of research institutes have warned that a European court ruling that severely restricts the use of a revolutionary gene editing technique to create new crops will jeopardise the Continent’s ability to feed itself. Experts from more than 70 European research institutes said that a European Court of Justice decision that placed stringent regulations around the use of Crispr technology — which allows a plant’s DNA to be precisely edited to create new varieties — “does not correctly reflect the current state of scientific knowledge”. The steep costs of fulfilling the regulatory requirements will have a chilling effect on innovation, they argue, as only the largest biotech companies will be able to meet them. Opportunities to create new crops better able to deal with climate
Scientists from more than 70 European research institutes have argued the European Court of agriculture 's ruling to restrict the use of CRISPR gene - editing technology could see European farmers lose out on the chance to grow " hardier and more nutritious crop varieties " . While anti - GM campaigners supported the decision that gene - edited crops must comply with strict regulatory standards , experts said new methods , such as CRISPR , replace traditional plant breeding techniques with better results , and argued the cost of fulfilling the regulatory requirements would block innovation .