There was a nice guest post on AgWeb recently titled:
Gene Editing: Building Better Blueprints, One Gene at a Time.
I really like the blueprint analogy as a means to help people understand how gene editing is similar and different from other technologies. Many consumers that are skeptical of advances in food technology are comfortable with older technologies or don't realize the differences.
As Bob Reiter stated in the article:
"Now consider this: what if there was a defect in the blueprint for the house? If we followed those instructions anyway, the defect would be built into the house – which could later lead to structural problems, ranging from minor to catastrophic, depending on which part the defect involved."
Messing up the blueprint is what a lot of consumers are hesitant about when it comes to traditional recombinant DNA technologies (a.k.a. 'GMOs'). They are worried about unknown downstream structural problems and the impact that could have on human health. To put this in other terms, genomic disruptions. In response they advocate for more regulations, testing, and labeling of 'GMO' foods and many are calling for a similar framework for gene edited foods. And food manufacturers take advantage of the marketing opportunities created by these concerns. Ever heard of the non-GMO Project?
But the blueprint analogy is actually helpful here. As Bob explains, in college he was careful about designing the blueprint. If we think of gene editing like making careful targeted changes to the blueprint, USDA organic approved technologies (methods using radiation or chemical mutagens) are more like his intoxicated fraternity brothers sneaking in making random changes to his plans without him knowing. Perhaps they introduce really cool innovations! On the other hand, the roof might leak, the plumbing could drain backwards, or worse. To put it differently, the number of genomic disruptions are far greater and unknown.
You would think, if customers and regulators were concerned about Bob's targeted changes (maybe they would insist that someone from the county does an inspection before proceeding with the construction) they would really be worried about the changes brought about by his inebriated counterparts. However, if we analogize back to mutagenic conventional and organic food, they don't seem concerned at all. They have accepted a build it and see what happens later attitude. No testing. No labeling. (other than maybe that Butterfly food marketers like to stamp on everything from rock salt to water). Of course, from a scientific risk based perspective, there probably is not a reason for testing or labeling these foods....if consumers already understand and accept this that should be a step further down a path toward newer 'safer' technologies that promise so much more.
You can only take an analogy so far but I like Bob's.
See also: Organic Activists Realize Hypocrisy On Gene Editing and Biotech
References:
Batista R and others (2008). Microarray analyses reveal that plant mutagenesis may induce more transcriptomic changes than transgene insertion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 105(9): 3640–3645
Baudo MM, Lyons R, Powers S, Pastori GM, Edwards KJ, Holdsworth MJ, Shewry PR. (2006). Transgenesis has less impact on the transcriptome of wheat grain than conventional breeding. Plant Biotechnol J. 2006 Jul;4(4):369-80
