At the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in London on 30th September 2024, Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner MP announced the government’s intention to pass secondary legislation to support precision breeding technologies “to boost Britain’s food security, support nature’s recovery and protect farmers from climate shocks”. This secondary legislation has now been laid in Parliament and will be debated and voted on by both Houses in March 2025.

This e-learning course aims to help MPs, farmers, other food industry stakeholders and biology students find out more about gene editing, precision breeding, precision bred organisms and the Precision Breeding Act.

• Module 1: The Precision Breeding Act: Find out what the Precision Breeding Act is, what’s included in its scope and where we are with the secondary implementing legislation. 
• Module 2: What is gene editing and how does it differ from other crop breeding techniques?: Discover the science behind gene editing, how it works and how it compares to other common crop breeding technologies. 
• Module 3: Applications of gene editing in crop breeding: Discover some of the ways we can use gene editing to develop healthier, more sustainable and more resilient crops. 
• Module 4: Gene editing at Norwich Research Park: Learn more about Norwich Research Park and the work we do on gene editing. 
• Module 5: Summary and key messages: Recap on the key points from this e-learning course and find out why we need swift implementation of the Precision Breeding Act.