Excitement about the gene scissors in Berlin

The excitement surrounding last year's European Court of Justice ruling classifying genome editing as genetic engineering continues. Now, German Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner has spoken out again on the issue. The background to her statement is a report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in early April stating that this year's global grain harvest will not be sufficient to meet global demand. While the FAO estimates that there will be no immediate shortage of grain in the global grain trade due to well-stocked warehouses, climate change and a growing global population raise the question of how agriculture can meet demand in the long term. In any case, it does not seem practical to rely permanently on existing stocks. Against this backdrop, the CDU minister told the Funke Media Group: "We need plants that are resistant to freak weather and climate change." The CRISPR technology offers the possibility of making plants more resistant to the effects of global warming by enabling targeted, minor modifications to the genetic makeup of crops. This makes it possible to achieve results that could also be achieved through breeding more quickly and efficiently. Proponents of the process also argue that this would not only make plants more resistant to the effects of climate change, but also reduce the large-scale use of fertilizers in agriculture. This could also make a valuable contribution to regional environmental protection. Compared to the fact that last year's ECJ ruling in particular represented more of a setback for researchers and companies in the EU, the statements by the Federal Minister of Agriculture at least give hope that the advantages of the CRISPR process will also be taken into account in the political debate.