It will not be easy to meet the European Green Deal targets if the current strict European legislation against allowing new breeding technologies, such as CRISPR-Cas, remains in place.
That is the view of Dutch researchers Justus Wesseler and his colleague Kai Purnhagen in an article published in Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy. The article appeared yesterday on the day the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to the researchers who developed CRISPR-Cas.
Frenchwoman Emmanuelle Charpentier and American Jennifer Doudna are the pioneers of applications of this technique in which DNA can be modified. For example, errors in DNA can be very precisely 'cut out'. “This technology has a revolutionary impact on the life sciences,” said the Nobel committee.
CRISPR-Cas makes it possible to edit DNA and deactivate genes with unprecedented precision. Many (hereditary) diseases in humans could become a thing of the past with this technique.
The livestock sector is watching the revolutionary technique with interest. Common animal diseases could be removed from animals' DNA, which would improve animal health worldwide. But this – still banned in the EU – technique is also being closely observed in arable farming and animal husbandry. So far, the European Court classifies CRISPR-Cas as ‘genetic modification’ and refuses approval.
This week, the Permanent Committee in Brussels is meeting to make recommendations on the approval of new crop protection products or bans on existing pesticides. Increasingly in the European Parliament and scientific circles, it is being argued that CRISPR-Cas is not a chemical addition but a natural removal.
The Ministry of Agriculture acknowledges that breeding techniques can play an important role in European agriculture, especially in arable farming and horticulture. Most breeding and production companies are based in the Netherlands. Therefore, the importance is very high here, and to a lesser extent also in Denmark, Germany, and France.
CRISPR-Cas is also the research field of Wageningen researcher John van der Oost, who previously received the Spinoza Prize for his work. He has been collaborating closely for years with Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna. According to the two Nobel laureates, Van der Oost also made a significant contribution to the success of this field.