A new genetically engineered corn variety developed by one of the world’s largest seed companies won’t undergo the same review by regulators as other GMO crops.
Researchers for DuPont Pioneer used a new technology called CRISPR-Cas to edit the genes of a waxy corn, which is used in processed foods and adhesives.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the variety is exempt for normal regulation, essentially because the technology edits the corn’s own genome, it doesn’t add genes from other plants.
“Our view is that plant varieties developed through these latest breeding methods shouldn’t be differentially regulated if they’re similar or indistinguishable from varieties that could have been produced through earlier breeding methods ” says DuPoint Pioneer's Neal Gutterson.
Dupont Pioneer expects the corn to be available to farmers within the next five years.