01/June/22

 

Two reports in a Scottish daily newspaper have highlighted powerful criticisms of UK media reporting on gene editing in the context of the Boris Johnson government’s new bill on deregulating gene-edited plants and animals in England. The National’s political correspondent, Xander Richards, reported accusations that the BBC and other media have been “repeating uncritically and ad nauseam” UK Government “lies” about gene-edited foods. The articles quote an expert on genetic engineering, London-based molecular geneticist Dr Michael Antoniou, and Pat Thomas, director of Beyond GM, both of whom give scorching quotes. When challenged by The National to correct its false statements, the BBC refused to do so. GMWatch

 

 

The UK government claims its new plans to allow gene-editing are nothing more than traditional breeding methods sped up by modern technology. But some experts are disputing this, arguing the technology is imprecise and will open the door to the “wild west” of genetics. “It’s not precise, so the term ‘precision breeding’ is a complete misnomer,” Dr Michael Antoniou said. “In addition to any intended genetic modification you invariably have large numbers of unintended alterations to the organism.” These could include the production of toxins and allergens in plants or crops. Antoniou calls the process genetic modification under another name. The Epoch Times