Gene Tech Bill Exactly What Nobel Laureates Are Asking For

 “A call to action from 153 Nobel and World Food Prize Laureates to loosen the regulatory ropes around gene technologies reinforces the need for New Zealand to adopt a science and risk-based approach as we consider and debate the Gene Technologies Bill now before Parliament’s Health Select Committee,” the Chair of the Life Sciences Network, Dr William Rolleston, said today.

The Nobel Laureates, including the inventors of CRISPR gene editing technology, Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, joined 26 World Food Laureates in issuing a call for action against a looming food crisis by the middle of the century, citing current productivity improvements “insufficient to meet future needs”.

They pointed out that productivity increases are now “hampered” by regulatory barriers prohibiting the use of research advancements and that “success will require science based policies, regulations, and incentives that are enabling” including “those pertaining to AI, computational biology and advanced genomic techniques.”

“Genetic technologies are used by millions of farmers in 26 countries and on more than 200 million hectares. However, New Zealand has had an effective moratorium driven by fear. That means for 20 years farmers and conservationists have not had the choice to use tools which could contribute to food productivity, our environmental aspirations and our prosperity,” said Dr Rolleston.

“We have some of the best farmers and scientists in the world. With the Gene Technology Bill they will have the opportunity to play their part in taking the world forward in food production. While the Bill will not put us on the bleeding edge of regulatory reform as some allege, it will enable the use of gene technologies in a balanced and risk appropriate way. That is what the Nobel Laurates are calling for,” concluded Dr Rolleston.

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