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Nov 3, 2016

Brexit could aid GM cause

The decision to leave the EU could be beneficial to the GM camelina project headed up by Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire. So project leader Dr Johnathan Napier told Fish Farming Expert, during a visit to the UK’s oldest agriculture research facility this week. “The result of the EU referendum represents an interesting wrinkle in all of this, as it means the UK will no longer fall under the EU’s GM regulations and it’s possible in the future that the GM approval process will be different in the UK,” he reflected. Dr Napier is overseeing the project, which has led to the development and successful cultivation of a unique strain of the plant which can produce oils containing the same amount (25%) of the key long chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA as fish oil. He has managed to successfully grow the new strain of camelina plants under both glasshouse and outdoor conditions while feed trials – in conjunction with the University of Stirling and Biomar – using oil from the plants have proved that it does indeed work as an ideal substitute for fish oil. Read the article.