The Precision Breeding Bill has gained Royal Assent following decades of industry campaigning.
The potential role of new breeding technologies in boosting sustainability on farms and increasing food security is now a step closer.
The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill gained Royal Assent on Thursday (23 March) after its passage through parliament, following a three-month public consultation in 2021.
The post-Brexit law change means that scientists will be able to undertake research and development by using gene-editing methods.
The UK is home to some of the world’s leading research institutions in this area, such as the James Hutton Institute in Dundee.
A major departure from EU policy, the Bill will enable the UK to develop and market precision bred plants and animals.
Biotechnology such as gene editing has the potential to combat pest and disease pressures on crops and farm animals.
It also has the potential to boost animal health and welfare, and increase crops’ resilience to extreme weather events.
The Bill means precision breeding is regulated differently to genetic modification (GM).
Gene editing is a group of technologies that make changes within the organism's own DNA by moving, adding or deleting precise pieces of genetic material.
Such changes also happen through conventional breeding techniques or in nature.
In contrast, GM technologies involve inserting new DNA from a different species into an organism’s genome, giving the resulting plant or animal desired characteristics.
The NFU, which has been campaigning on the issue for two decades, welcomed the bill’s passing.
NFU vice president David Exwood said: “Having access to more targeted precision breeding tools could really help bolster climate-friendly food production and support biodiversity.”
However, Mr Exwood said the passage of the Bill was only the first step.
“As it is implemented through further legislation, regulations must be fit for purpose if it is to provide a meaningful boost to our food resilience and food security.”
Giles Oldroyd, Professor of Crop Sciences at the University of Cambridge, said the bill was a crucial development that opened up new possibilities for agricultural science.
“The UK… is in a race to climate-proof food systems, and conventional breeding alone cannot keep up with the rapidly changing challenges of new growing conditions.
“UK science and research has made extraordinary advances in this field over the last 30 years, and this law expands the remit of scientific exploration, which can only bring benefits."
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