Gene editing in agriculture is here – will Canada be a leader or watch from the sidelines?

The next wave of agricultural innovation is now upon us and will complement the tools already used by plant breeders. The first gene edited food product – a high oleic soybean oil – has been commercialized in the U.S.

Developing a new plant variety is a long, complex and expensive process. Consider this: if apple growers in a particular region are dealing with a new disease that is damaging their crops, it could take plant breeders decades to breed a new variety that is resistant to the pest and addresses their problem. Not exactly the most responsive process.

That’s not to say that plant breeders haven’t revolutionized agriculture and food production by developing varieties that are higher yielding, resistant to pests and more efficient to grow. A quick look at nature’s original fruits and vegetables – corn with inedible kernels and difficult-to-peel bananas filled with seeds – shows how humans have dramatically improved the food we enjoy today.

Why gene editing matters

More recently, genetic engineering has enabled scientists to more precisely and efficiently improve crops. Herbicide-tolerant canola and soybeans have helped manage yield-robbing weeds while enabling the wide-spread adoption of conservation tillage practices, which has improved soil health and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. And insect-resistant corn has improved pest management for farmers, to name just a few examples.

So why is gene editing so significant? There are a couple of reasons. Gene editing technology, which encompasses a number of processes to make precise changes to a plant’s DNA, is accessible and affordable. Everyone from individual researchers to large-scale companies can use the technology to make targeted improvements to plants of almost any kind more quickly and inexpensively than traditional breeding.

Secondly, this technology will allow scientists to be very responsive to the challenges facing farmers and the environment, and to meet the changing demands of consumers. Think about nutrient-enhanced vegetables, reduced-gluten wheat, anti-browning fruits and vegetables to reduce food waste, pest-resistant coffee beans to save your cup of joe and disease-resistant oranges that are so desperately needed to protect the orange industry.

Enabling innovation in agriculture

What’s not certain yet is how regulatory systems around the world, including Canada’s, will treat gene editing technologies. What we need is the adoption of smart, science-based regulations around the world that enable the timely adoption of plant breeding innovations all while upholding the highest standards for protecting human and environmental health and safety.

Canada can and should set an example for the rest of the world when it comes to regulation for plant breeding innovations. And in fact, it will need to do so if we are going to meet the ambitious goal of growing our agri-food exports to $85 billion annually by 2025 as set by the Economic Strategy Tables.

Innovation is not simply a box that can be checked off. To truly drive innovation the way the current federal government says it wants to, we must create frameworks that enable cutting edge research and development. Talking about support for innovation is not enough.

Some of our major trading partners around the world are positioning themselves to capitalize on the potential of plant breeding innovations. For example, the United States Department of Agriculture recently clarified that it will not apply additional regulation to gene edited products that could have been created through conventional breeding, thus encouraging investment and innovation in this space.

Canada’s regulatory system can be a global leader

Canada’s regulatory system is respected internationally for the fundamentals of its science-based approach to regulating agricultural biotechnology. Canada can and should build on this strong foundation and leverage two decades of experience in this space to become the most timely, predictable and transparent system in the world enabling innovation by both large and small businesses alike.

The stakes are high – if we do not act quickly investments in plant breeding innovation will go elsewhere with Canadian farmers paying the price in competitiveness due to a lack of available tools. It’s simply unreasonable to expect either private or public sector organizations to invest in developing a new product through plant breeding innovation without clarity about how and to what degree it will be regulated.

At the end of the day all crops in Canada, no matter how they are developed, produced or processed are subject to stringent safety regulations that have long protected Canadians, animals and the environment.

At CropLife Canada we are working with industry and government stakeholders in response to the Economic Strategy Tables to build on this strong foundation of safety and find the best path forward. As an industry, we believe the following improvements to the regulatory program for plant breeding innovations will position Canada to be a leader.

• The regulatory program should provide clear guidance to innovators on what triggers a pre-market assessment when a product is developed through plant breeding innovations.
• The regulatory system should adopt a tiered approach to the evaluation of products based on complexity and familiarity that leverages two decades of experience regulating products of plant biotechnology, over which time there has not been a single product submitted for review in Canada that has been deemed harmful to humans, animals or the environment.
• Where possible, Canada should align its approach to regulating plant breeding innovations and share information with key trading partners around the world to facilitate trade and help establish rational regulatory programs globally.

As a food producing nation, Canada has an obligation to embrace innovation that supports the growth of sustainable agricultural production. Let’s ensure our farmers have the tools they need to be leaders in growing food for Canadians and the world.

By Pierre Petelle, president and CEO, CropLife Canada
Published on 15 March 2019