For dinner:
Genetically altered 'super chicken'
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
Source: The Associated Press
CheckBiotech
The government said
it will start considering proposals to sell genetically engineered animals as
food, a move that could lead to faster-growing fish, cattle
that can resist mad cow disease or perhaps heart-healthier eggs laid by a new
breed of chickens.
The rules will also apply to drugs and other medical
materials from genetically engineered animals, a field with explosive
potential.
Reaction from consumer groups was mixed. They welcomed the
government's decision to regulate genetically altered animals, but they
cautioned that crucial details remain to be spelled out. For example, the Food
and Drug Administration does not plan to require that all genetically
engineered meat, poultry and fish be labeled as such. It would be labeled only
if there was a change in the final product, such as low-cholesterol filet
mignon.
"They are talking about pigs that are going to have
mouse genes in them, and this is not going to be labeled?" said Jean Halloran, director of food policy for Consumers Union.
"We are close to speechless on this." Consumers
Nonetheless, Gregory Jaffe, who heads the biotechnology
project at the Center for Science in the Public Interest called the FDA's move
a "good first step."
"This is the first time the federal government is
announcing a comprehensive regulatory system that addresses the concerns from
these animals," said Jaffe. "But it may not have addressed all the
environmental concerns."
What would happen if a genetically engineered animal escaped
and started reproducing with wild animals of the same species? asked Jaffe. The FDA said it would address that issue.
On Thursday, the FDA released a proposed legal framework for
how it would resolve such questions as whether the altered animals are safe for
human consumption and whether they pose any serious environmental risk. FDA
officials said they were focusing on animals that will be used as food, or to
produce medications that would then be consumed by people or by other animals.
The agency is not interested in reviewing genetically engineered mice already
widely used in lab experiments.
"Genetic engineering of animals is here and has been
here for some time, " said Larisa
Rudenko, a science policy adviser with the FDA's veterinary
medicine center. "We intend to provide a rigorous, risk-based regulatory
path for developers to follow to help ensure public health and the health of
animals."
Genetic engineering is already widely used in agriculture to
produce higher-yielding or disease-resistant crops. But it's unclear how
consumers will react to altered animals, even if they come with a government
seal of approval.
Genetically engineered — or GE — animals are not clones,
which the FDA has already said are safe to eat. While clones are exact copies
of an animal, genetically engineered animals are manipulated by scientists to
bring about a change in their characteristics. In years past, this was done by
crossbreeding animals with desirable traits.
GE animals are created when scientists insert a gene from
one species of animal into the DNA of another animal to reprogram some of its
characteristics. For example, fish could be made to grow faster, or pigs might
be re-engineered to produce less waste.
To engineer Aqua Bounty's faster-growing salmon, scientists
took a snippet of DNA from an eel-like fish and stitched it into the genes of
salmon. Normally, Atlantic salmon produce growth hormone only in the summer
months. But with the change, salmon produce growth hormone all year long,
allowing them to grow to full size in about 18 months instead of three years, Entis said.
"This is like tuning up your car," he said. GE
salmon would be kept in enclosed pens, to prevent their escape into the wild,
and sterilized to keep them from reproducing.
While the introduction of GE animals by food companies will
probably get the most attention from the public, it's the pharmaceutical
industry that seems poised to reap the greatest benefits.
Barbara Glenn, an animal science expert with the Biotechnology
Industry Organization, said research is under way that could lead to the
development of vaccines, transplant organs, replacement tissues, and other
medically useful materials from genetically engineered animals.
For example, one company is experimenting with GE cows to
produce human antibodies against such diseases as smallpox and pandemic flu.
Another is trying to produce a pig liver that would be suitable for
transplanting into a human patient.
Glenn said there is currently only one drug on the market
derived from a genetically engineered animal, and it is not approved in the
U.S. Available in
"We are issuing this draft guidance now because the
technology has evolved to a point where the commercialization of these animals
is no longer beyond the horizon," said Randall Lutter,
FDA deputy commissioner for policy. The agency's proposal will be open for
public comment for 60 days.
Source: The Associated Press
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