Agricultural newspapers report aggressively on CRISPR/Cas

While in recent decades agricultural newspapers have reported predominantly negatively on genetic engineering and advised farmers against the use and cultivation of genetically modified organisms, primarily for liability reasons, new breeding methods, in particular the CRISPR/Cas gene scissors, have recently been reported positively. A recent article in the agricultural weekly newspaper explains that these new breeding methods have been used in agriculture for more than 30 years. In this context, Professor Dr. Holger Puchta from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) speaks out. He explains that mutations are neither new nor negative. In fact, chemical processes or irradiation have always been used for plant breeding, leading to such mutations. In this way, around 3,000 new plant varieties have been created, which are also used in Europe. He cited seedless grapefruit and European malting barley as examples. In contrast to these breeding methods, however, CRISPR/Cas is more targeted and faster. After just one generation, it is known whether the goal has been achieved. Great hopes are currently being placed in this method for banana breeding, as bananas are currently threatened by a fungus and otherwise face extinction. It remains to be seen whether such positive explanations can actually lead to a rethink regarding the use of CRISPR/Cas to create mutations in food and feed.