“Keep America First in Agriculture” was launched June 25 by the National Pork Producers Council, stressing the need for establishing the proper regulatory framework for gene editing in livestock across the United States.
This innovation will help ensure U.S. farmers have the opportunity to remain competitive in the world market.
“Without an appropriate regulatory framework, we risk U.S. agriculture one of our country’s most competitive economic sectors falling behind other countries,” Jim Monroe, assistant vice president, communications, NPPC said. “The U.S. has always been the global leader in agriculture innovation.”
Alison Van Eenennaam, an animal biotechnology and genomics Extension specialist, University of California-Davis, gave the low down on gene editing and how it works. Gene editors are basically a “very sophisticated pair of scissors,” she said. They look for a very specific piece of DNA.
…
The Food and Drug Administration has proposed in its draft guidance for industry, No. 187, it is seeking to treat the altered animal genome itself as a drug instead of the actual technology that alters the genome …. [The FDA’s] Center for Veterinary Medicine states that it will do this regardless of the technology used as the genes and whether or not the genomic alterations are heritable.
Read full, original article: NPPC stresses importance of keeping up with technology
