Keep America First in Agriculture campaign highlights the importance of establishing a proper regulatory framework for gene editing in American livestock

Potatoes may not perish as fast in the future. The J.R. Simplot Company has executed a joint intellectual property licensing agreement with Corteva Agriscience and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard for foundational CRISPR-Cas9 and related gene editing tools. The technology will give Simplot another avenue to bring desirable traits forward in certain fruits […]

The Coalition for Responsible Gene Editing in Agriculture has established a multi-stakeholder Steering Committee to develop a framework for responsible use and effective communication with the public. “The steering committee will work to develop a framework that can provide assurance to the food system and other stakeholders that those using gene editing within the framework […]

Following the EU ruling on gene editing last week, the USDA plans to double down efforts to work with partners globally towards science-based regulatory approaches. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued the following statement regarding this week’s European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on newer mutagenesis methods, otherwise known as genome editing. “Government policies […]

A European Court ruling today on gene editing could set back cutting-edge research and development in agriculture and even medicine. In today’s judgement, the European Court of Justice ruled that organisms obtained by mutagenesis are GMOs within the meaning of the GMO Directive, in so far as the techniques and methods of mutagenesis alter the […]

The National Pork Producers Council is asking the USDA to assert its proper oversight of two emerging issues critical to the future of animal agriculture: laboratory-produced cultured protein and gene editing in livestock production. Alternative proteins include those that are plant-based as well as cultured products grown in a lab. Last week the FDA hosted […]

Monsanto is joining forces with agricultural startup, Pairwise Plants, to advance ag research and development by leveraging gene-editing technology. Under the agreement, Pairwise will work in corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and canola crops exclusively with Monsanto. Included in the companies’ collaboration and licensing agreement, Monsanto will contribute $100 million to access and develop Pairwise IP […]

While new gene editing approaches have helped to increase yields, lengthen shelf-life, and improving disease resistance, communicating these benefits with society can often be difficult. A recent study led by University of Minnesota researchers from the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences (CFANS) provides the most concrete proposal to date for an open, […]

A University of California, Riverside research team won $14.9 million to battle mosquitoes that carry diseases such as Zika. With The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract, believed to be the largest ever received by a UC Riverside researcher, Omar Akbari, an assistant professor of entomology, and his team will focus on a technique […]