Using Citizen Science to Explore Plant Breeding and Investigate Food-Chain Transparency for Novel Breeding Methods

The UK recently investigated the potential use of biotechnology to improve environmental sustainability and stimulate innovation in plant breeding technologies. As a result, a Bill that defines some types of gene editing as ‘precision bred organisms’ became law in England in March 2023. This was followed by a public consultation exercise by the FSA that sought stakeholders’ views on proposals for the new framework in England for regulating precision bred organisms used for food and animal feed.

Building upon the efforts of policymakers, regulatory agencies, and previous research that underscored the pivotal role of public acceptance, knowledge, and trust in the successful implementation of novel technologies, this research aimed to investigate UK citizens’ views on traditional versus novel plant breeding methods. To achieve this, we used citizen science, an innovative participatory research method. Our approach to citizen science in this project involved volunteers in our research to benefit them but also to benefit the research community, regulatory agencies, and policymakers so their participation ultimately leads to fruitful outcomes and widely accepted policies.

The project aimed to improve citizens’ knowledge of traditional and novel plant breeding methods and understand citizens’ needs regarding a transparent food system that involves implementing novel technologies, including gene editing. Therefore, 69 citizen scientists were recruited via project partner Universities’ social media channels and alums networks. The research consisted of online exercises, surveys, feedback collection, and focus groups.

The results suggest that the engagement and educational exercises during the study had improved citizen scientists’ knowledge of traditional and novel plant breeding methods. Nearly all reported that they learned about plant science and about how fruits and vegetables were grown (from a low original baseline). Their moderate level of trust in regulatory agencies did not appear to be influenced by this increase in knowledge. No consensus was found regarding citizens’ views about the transparency in the food supply chain and labelling of gene-edited fruits and vegetables. This indicates a need for further research with citizens to explore their understanding of transparency and conditions under which they would support or not support labelling.