The Royal Society has responded to Defra's consultation on "Environmental Principles and Governance after EU Exit".
The response recommends that the proposed statutory policy statement on environmental principles should clarify the interpretation and application of the precautionary principle to ensure that it does not prevent new technologies being developed safely, in ways and for purposes which the public feel comfortable with.
It also states that a more effective regulatory system for the commercial production of plants and animals using genetic technologies would result from a shift in emphasis from the method by which an organism is produced towards the trait that has been introduced.
Find out more about the Royal Society's work on Brexit and UK science.