China Grants Safety Approval for the First Gene-Edited Crop

China has granted safety approval for the use of gene-editing technology in a crop for the first time, marking a significant milestone in boosting food production in the country. Shandong Shunfeng Biotechnology created a soybean with two modified genes that can dramatically boost the plant's amount of good fat, oleic acid.

Unlike genetic modification, which introduces foreign genes into a plant, gene editing alters existing genes, and it is considered less risky than GMOs. Shunfeng is the first Chinese company looking to commercialize gene-edited crops and is researching around 20 other gene-edited crops, including herbicide-resistant rice and soybeans, vitamin C-rich lettuce, and higher-yield rice, wheat, and corn.

China published rules on gene editing last year, and this approval comes amid concerns over feeding the country's 1.4 billion population amid trade tensions, erratic weather, and war in major grain exporter Ukraine.

A growing middle class is also facing a surge in diet-related diseases. While China is promoting GMO crops, gene-edited crops are expected to reach the market faster due to fewer steps in the regulatory process. Before Chinese farmers may grow the gene-edited soybean, several other licenses are needed, including seed kinds with the changed genes.

Calyxt, a US-based business, also created a high oleic soybean, yielding healthful oil that was the first gene-edited product approved in the US in 2019. Gene-edited goods, such as healthier tomatoes and faster-growing fish, have also been allowed in Japan.

The approval of the gene-edited soybean is expected to benefit China's food production, as it provides a safer and more efficient alternative to GMOs, which are becoming increasingly popular globally.

Source- The Indian Express

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