After years of conflicting public statements and legislation restricting genetic engineering, Russia appears poised to embrace new breeding technologies for medicine and agriculture. A decree signed into law in 2020 authorized Rosneft, the Russian Oil Company, to oversee government efforts to accelerate the development of genetic technologies, including gene editing, and to create scientific-technological capacities […]
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Canada adopted guidelines in May 2023 on crops developed through gene-editing and other New Breeding Techniques (NBTs), regulating them in the same limited way as conventional crops. No labeling is required for almost all crops grown using NBTs. According to the government: ”Plant breeding innovations allow new plant varieties to be developed more effectively and
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Japan is emerging as a pioneer in the introduction of gene-edited foodstuffs. It allows gene-edited products to be sold to consumers without safety evaluations as long as the techniques involved meet certain criteria — a screening process similar to that adopted by the United States. It has introduced three CRISPR-edited products to date: fleshier red
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Gene-edited organisms are assessed on a case-by-case basis and require notifying the government, which includes information on the editing technique and genes targeted for modification. No safety or environmental assessments are required unless the organism contains foreign DNA, but each time a gene-edited organism is crossed with another conventional or gene-edited organism, a separate notification process must
There are no transgenic or gene-edited animals yet approved for sale in Argentina. Gene edited animals, when developed, will not be subject to regulation as genetically engineered organisms unless they contain foreign DNA. All gene-edited products must be submitted to CONABIA, or otherwise are considered a GMO. Gene-edited animals will be assessed on a case-by-case
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Argentina maintains one of the world’s most streamlined and predictable regulatory environments for gene-edited products. Under the current Resolution 24/2026, the country employs a product-based “prior consultation” system that distinguishes between New Breeding Techniques (NBTs) and traditional Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). The core legal standard is whether the final organism contains a “new combination of
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China does not have a regulatory framework for animal gene editing, but there is extensive research being done. China has published more research papers on CRISPR than any other country. China’s Ministry of Agriculture currently regulates gene-edited animals like genetically modified organisms, which are severely restricted, but many researchers and companies believe China will decide
China is moving quickly to formalize gene editing in agriculture as part of a broader food security and innovation agenda, with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) serving as the key regulator for agricultural genome editing. China has built a centralized, government led review pathway intended to distinguish lower risk gene edits from
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Brexit has left the United Kingdom with a divided regulatory map for gene-edited crops. England has built a new approval system under the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 and the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Regulations 2025. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have not followed, and continue to regulate gene-edited plants under the older European
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View the EU Animals summary for more information.
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Gene editing is a set of techniques that can be used to precisely modify the DNA of almost any organism. It is being used for applications in human health, gene drives and agriculture. There are numerous gene-editing tools besides CRISPR-Cas 9, which gets most of the attention because it is a comparatively easy tool to use.
Gene editing does not usually involve transgenics – moving ‘foreign’ genes between species. It also refers to a specific technique in contrast to the general term GMO, which is scientifically ambiguous, as genetic modification is a process not a product. Most gene editing involves creating new products by deleting very small segments of DNA (sometimes in agriculture called Site-Directed Nuclease 1 or SDN-1 techniques), which can silence a gene or change a gene’s activity. Countries are evaluating whether or not to regulate this type of gene editing, since it is so similar to natural mutations. The GLP’s Gene Editing Index ratings reflect the regulatory status of SDN-1 techniques, which are the most liberally regulated and will generate most products in the near term.
To develop different products, gene editing can change larger segments of DNA or add DNA from other species (a form of transgenics sometimes in agriculture called SDN-2 or SDN-3 techniques). While many countries are not regulating or lightly regulating SDN-1 techniques, most are moving toward tightly regulating or even restricting SDN-2 and SDN-3.
For more background on the various gene editing SDN techniques, read background articles here and here.