The Impact of Genome Editing on the Right to Adequate Food, Food Safety and the Preservation of Biodiversity

The paper outlines the impact of gene editing techniques applied to crops and their derived products on the right to adequate food, as it has been developed under international law. The objective of the research is to assess whether such framework is apt to protect the right to adequate food and the role of national policies and legislation in this regard. After analysing the current regulatory scenario of gene edited plants and their derived products, as well international law’s instruments directly and indirectly protecting the right to adequate food, the paper argues that the international framework converges on a core of principles and rules which lay the basis for the fulfilment of the right to adequate food. At the same time, there is a global tendency to foster innovation and adopt more lenient regulation for certain uses of gene editing. However, while such techniques may be either beneficial or detrimental for the right to food, depending on the strategic purposes for which they are employed, it falls upon states to implement regulations which strike a balance between innovation and social interests, ensuring a fair and trustworthy development of gene editing techniques, contributing effectively to food accessibility, safety and acceptability.