In 2023 more than 10 per cent of people in the UK are turning to veganism and vegetarianism. Andrew Stronach, the head of external relations at the Quadram Institute, said: “people know there’s a climate crisis and want to have a healthy diet”.
But how will people replace the nutrients that meat and fish provide the body? This is where gene editing comes in at the Quadram Institute and John Innes Centre in Norwich Research Park.
The Quadram Institute said they are “delivering healthier lives through innovation in gut health, microbiology and food”. This is alongside the John Innes Centre, “excellence in plant science, genetics, and microbiology”.
Dr Jie Lie, a scientist working with the Quadram Institute, is working on Vitamin D rich tomatoes. She is striving to find “nutritional security to go alongside calorific security that has already been achieved”.
Two thirds of Britain, and one billion people in the world, have a vitamin D deficiency. Just a singular tomato will be the equivalent to 28 grams of tuna or two medium sized eggs.
Dr Brittany Hazard works at the Quadram Institute, also hoping to have “a huge impact on people’s lives”.
She is genetically editing the starch in wheat species to make products like white bread easier to digest. This can help prevent hypoglycaemia, diabetes, obesity, and certain cancers.
People can expect to see these changes available in supermarkets in “15 to 20 years” according to Dr Hazard.
Genetic editing is not a new concept and causes dispute, famously the genetic modification moral panic of 2000. However, Dr Lie said that it’s important the public understand this is to “give people more option for consumption alongside the normal variety”, not to force people to change their diets.
