The UK 's Department of Environment , Food and Rural Affairs ( Defra ) has approved the first European trial of growing genetically - edited ( GE ) Camelina oilseed crops . The trials skirt restrictions on genetically modified crops because they contain no foreign DNA . The trial is the first of a two - phase project aimed at combining the GE crop with a genetically modified version to produce a Camelina with " supercharged " amounts of Omega 3 oils . Critics accuse Defra of " handing out a free pass " to experimental farmers . Gene-edited super-crops are to be sown in Britain in a European-first after scientists exploited a legal loophole. The European Court of Justice is to rule soon on whether GE plants can be regarded legally the same as traditional crops .
The UK 's Department of Environment , Food and Rural Affairs ( Defra ) has approved the first European trial of growing genetically - edited ( GE ) Camelina oilseed crops . The trials skirt restrictions on genetically modified crops because they contain no foreign DNA . The trial is the first of a two - phase project aimed at combining the GE crop with a genetically modified version to produce a Camelina with " supercharged " amounts of Omega 3 oils . Critics accuse Defra of " handing out a free pass " to experimental farmers . The European Court of Justice is to rule soon on whether GE plants can be regarded legally the same as traditional crops .