The European Forum of Farm Animal Breeders says a recent court ruling will rob farmers and the public of many genetic advances.
The European court ruled that gene editing should be regulated in the same way as genetically-modified organisms (GMOs.
Unlike GMOs, gene editing deals only with the genes already within the genome of a species, such as pigs, cattle or crops. GMOs often involve introducing a gene from another species, such as a gene discovered in bacteria to produce Roundup-Ready corn and soybeans.
The EFFAB said gene editing technology holds the potential to improve farming in the following ways:
· Animal health – creating resistance against diseases such as PRRS in pigs or Avian influenza in poultry, to increase the protection of livestock health. Increasing resistance in pigs to PRRS assists to reduce other associated diseases in pig farming and the overall use of antibiotics.
· Animal welfare – enforcing hornless cattle to avoid the dehorning procedure of calves and protect farmers and castration-free piglets.
· Wildlife protection – gene editing in aquaculture can protect wild populations of fish from mixing with farm escapes.
· Better use of resources – improving the feed efficiency in poultry and aquaculture.
· Climate change – breeding of ruminants with lower methane emissions.
· Sustainability – with regards to a growing human population, the ongoing climate change and the economics of low income for farmers, gene editing is a tool to improve sustainability in livestock production.
