Pallab Ghosh
Science correspondent.
The image is from the news.
The image caption is.
The piglets have been made resistant to a lung disease.
An independent review says that the production of gene-edited farm animals must put welfare first.
Scientists can use the technology to alter the genes so as to introduce certain characteristics.
An analysis has called for a review of the government's proposals for regulating technology.
The current ban on the commercial development of gene-edited animals could increase livestock suffering, warns a report by the Nuffield Council for Bioethics.
The council's assistant director, Peter Mills, who was the driving force behind the report, says the government's plan to scrap the current restrictions "effectively takes the brakes off the capacity for breeders to advance their breeding programmes".
He said that it was a requirement for breeders of farm animals to tread a line between what they can get out of it and animal welfare. We want that line to be drawn more clearly.
The image is from Acceligen.
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A dairy calf.
Gene-editing is the process of altering the genes of a living organisms. It's a more precise and targeted technology than previous forms of genetic engineering and the changes are indistinguishable from natural mutations.
The earlier forms of genetic engineering used to involve the random transfer of a genes from one species to another.
The UK is a leader in technology. The researchers at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh have developed pigs that are immune to one of the world's costliest animal diseases. They are trying to produce African cattle that produce more milk, while a US firm has created cows that thrive in hotter conditions.
The technology has the ability to bring real benefits. The member of the working group that produced the report said that it could make things worse.
She said that geno editing could be used to increase the density of animals in production.
breeding animals that could tolerate poor conditions better without having adverse health impacts is something we would be concerned about.
Critics say that an experiment carried out in 1989 by researchers working for the US Department of Agriculture is an example of how genetic science could be used. The scientists added a human growth hormone to the pig's genes. The expectation was that the pig would be leaner and grow faster.
The image is from the American Briens Society.
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Old-style genetic engineering was wrong. The pig was made to grow more than it normally would. It worked, but at the cost of the animal's health.
The researchers succeeded in increasing weight, feed efficiency, and carcass fat.
The animals suffered from a number of health issues, including heart disease and pneumonia. Current technology is less likely to have disastrous consequences, that's what supporters of gene editing say.
The EU forbids the commercial development of gene-edited animals. The UK government had an opportunity to change its rules. In September, it announced a relaxation of rules governing research on gene-edited crops and a plan to bring in new regulations next year to allow food made from gene-edited plants and animals to be sold in England.
The Chair of the Nuffield working group is concerned that the approach to setting new rules by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is too narrow.
Those involved in policing must look beyond the question of food safety and look at the overall vision of a food and farming system that supports sustainable farming and improves standards of animal welfare.
A public consultation process that feeds into the government review is one of the recommendations from the Nuffield Council.
Setting and enforcement of breeding standards, an independent body to monitor the long-term impact of genetic changes on animals, and a food labelling system that contains information of breeding are some of the recommendations.
The Environment Secretary recognised that there was a strong public interest in the proposal to ease restrictions on GM technologies, and Defra would engage with experts, businesses and campaign groups throughout the process. The department is taking a step by step approach to enable the use of gene editing.
We are only starting with plants and then looking at the application to animals and microorganisms.
We will not reduce safety or animal welfare standards.
Bruce Whitelaw is the interim director of the Roslin Institute and he is an advocate of safe and responsible development of gene-edited animals. He signed off on the report's concerns and recommendations as a member of the working group. Proper regulation would ensure that the technology would benefit animal welfare, as well as help to feed a hungry world, he said.
Genetics has a lot to offer agriculture. We have shown that this technology can reduce the burden of disease in livestock by producing pigs resistant to the PRRS virus. If this application progresses to the farm, it will have welfare benefits for the animals.
Through public dialogue, we will be able to assess how this technology can be used to benefit agriculture. The time is right to identify how to use genetic technologies to produce a fair and responsible livestock food system.
Genetics.
Genetic engineering.
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