The Swedish Gene Technology Advisory Board, Gentekniknämnden, has released its report The Public Opinion in Sweden on Gene-Edited Crops and Farmed Animals, covering topics from agricultural gene editing to public attitudes toward gene-edited animals.
Gene Editing in Agriculture
The report notes that gene editing techniques like CRISPR/Cas9 are major scientific breakthroughs of the 21st century, allowing precise changes to DNA in living cells. These methods modify existing genes without introducing new ones, and the changes mimic natural mutations.
The report states that a 2021 survey by the Swedish Gene Technology Advisory Board and Novus found most Swedes supported gene-edited crops, especially when the benefits to society were clear. However, public knowledge of gene technology was generally low. Similar surveys in other countries show that gene editing is often seen as less risky and intrusive than older methods like transgenesis, which involve inserting genes from other species. Half of the respondents had heard about gene editing.
In terms of mitigating disease, in potatoes for example, the survey found that 71% of participants supported using gene editing to develop a potato resistant to late blight, while 21% opposed it and 8% were unsure.
The report stated that overall, “77% of respondents believed it is right to gene-edit crops for one of the proposed purposes described, while only 11% responded that it is always wrong to gene-edit crops.”
As per the report, “The Swedish Gene Technology Advisory Board (Gentekniknämnden) is an authority tasked with promoting the responsible and safe use of gene technology. The Board is also responsible for informing policymakers and the public about current issues in the field of gene technology. As part of this work, the Board conducted this study in collaboration with the analysis company Novus. The aim was to better understand the Swedish public’s attitude towards the use of gene editing techniques, such as the CRISPR/Cas9 gene scissors, in the agricultural sector.”
