Here are the climate-related sections of speeches by MPs during the Commons debate Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Third sitting).
11:33 The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Jo Churchill)
It is important to move forward with this Bill for several reasons. There are very significant benefits to the environment, human health and resilience to climate change that can accrue from precision bred organisms. The technologies that we can harness to derive those benefits are now sufficiently mature that we are ready to capitalise on them. The UK is well positioned to do that. Many other countries have already made the use of such technologies easier, and it is time for the UK to catch up and it is safe to do so.
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Jo Churchill
The ability to undertake precision breeding, which would be the equivalent to the natural variation that we find in those populations, is an almost transformative technology to improve animal welfare and production—for example, there would be a lack of wasted carbon caused by disease. I think it has a really important potential for planetary health in terms of climate change.
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12:19 Clive Lewis (Labour)
Q Can I make one point on that? I have to speak on behalf of many people in this country who would make the point that if you did not have animals as foodstuffs or even believe that we can keep them as pets—there are many people who think that; maybe not millions, but plenty—the fact that you are keeping them for the sole purpose of benefiting human beings, either as foodstuffs or for other products that they can create, is in itself part of the problem. I am just putting that down there. There is obviously a growing number of people who are becoming vegetarian and vegan with the climate crisis and so on who increasingly believe that. Now we are moving into a new phase of gene editing and all that comes with that.
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Jo Churchill
Q I think we will put that in work in progress for discussion. As we have just heard, there is a broad spectrum as to what one might be working with. My final question is to our final panellist, Mr Stevenson. We have heard evidence about the Bill’s potential for good, given the common goals of tackling climate change, reducing disease and so on. While being aware of further discussions, what is the evidence that we should not move forward with the legislation to the benefit of animal welfare, broader animal disease, enhancing food security and tackling climate change?
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