The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is lobbying the United States government to ease its requirements for gene editing, saying it fears other nations will gain a competitive advantage using the technology.
The NPPC said the current oversight protocols could be “a barrier to innovation, development and adoption” to emerging biotechnology.
It said it takes too long to approve procedures such aa gene editing; it’s too costly and the scope for approvals is too narrow.
It also said the Food and Drug Administration lacks expertise in livestock biotech” .
It said pork producers see the “tremendous potential in biotechnology to address animal health issues, such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome,” in addition to advancing responsible antibiotic use.
Other nations either are moving forward with such procedures as gene editing, or are already further along in considering implementation of such procedures, which ultimately could give them an advantage over U.S. pork producers, NPPC said in a letter to politicians.
The NPPC recommends that the FDA develop a “modified approval process” for animals produced through gene editing techniques. The move could allow the novelty of the edit to be evaluated against previous applications in order to establish the safety of the procedures, the organization said.
