On Friday, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics said that there is an urgent need for greater ethical scrutiny of new methods to increase food production rates in crops and farmed animals.

The Council has been looking at ethical questions surrounding recent advances in genome editing technologies. The independent council found that advances in these areas are potentially moving faster than issues of ethics can be worked through.

Gene editing basically involves altering the DNA sequence in a living cell; the cell repairs itself and the way in which it does this can alter its functions. Though it’s only been possibly to conduct this process with any accuracy or effectiveness since 2005, already the technology is becoming easier to use, and costs are coming down. It has a number of potential applications in agriculture, including increasing crop and livestock production, or conferring resistance to diseases, pests or environmental conditions and could potentially be used in the creation of ‘third generation biofules’ produced from algae.

The Nuffield Council’s study was carried out by an interdisciplinary Working Group that included experts in science, law, philosophy, ethics, sociology and industry.

Dr Andy Greenfield, Chair of the working group that conducted the review and a geneticist working for the Medical Research Council commented, “Genome editing is already showing a potential to transform not only how biological research is carried out, but more importantly our expectations and ambitions for addressing challenges such as disease prevention and food security.

“Although most uses so far have been in research, the potential applications seem to be almost unlimited, given that the techniques are applicable to all organisms, from bacteria to plants, animals, and human beings”

Inquiry into genome editing in livestock

According to the Council’s working group, livestock agriculture is an area in which genome editing techniques have not just accelerated research, but have opened up completely new areas of research that could have significant societal, economic and political implications. Possible applications for genome editing in livestock agriculture include increasing animals' meat yield or reproductive capacity, or improving disease resistance and welfare in intensively reared animals.

The Council said genome editing in animals gives a fresh impetus for considering questions raised by previous technologies for modifying foods. As well as potential food safety issues (whether editing genes has any unforeseen effects on food products), there are obvious animal welfare concerns, and the Council noted that these feed in to arguments about the appropriate ways to meet challenges of food security.

Professor John Dupre of the University of Exeter, who is involved with the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, commented, “Genome editing calls into question the distinction between genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and non-GMO foods, which are regulated quite differently at present.

“In our inquiry on livestock we want to look at the issues from the starting point of the societal challenge that we face in feeding a growing world population and ask whether and how new genome technologies should contribute to meeting that challenge. We will be seeking views from a wide range of people to inform our deliberations and recommendations.”   

Gene editing to prevent the transfer of hereditary genetic diseases is another are urgently requiring ethical investigation. The Council has announced that it will conduct two specific inquiries looking at the ethical and practical questions raised by the possible use of genome editing in two key areas. The first will look at human reproduction - preventing the transmission of heritable genetic conditions - and the second will focus on the use of the technology on livestock animals. Prof John Dupre will head-up the working group on genome editing in livestock.