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NPPC cites Nobel Prize, says U.S. is falling behind in gene editing of livestock
The National Pork Producers Council, citing the Nobel Prize awarded to developers of gene editing technology, is renewing its call for regulatory oversight of gene edited livestock to be moved from the FDA to USDA.
Dr. Dan Kovich is NPPC’s director of science and technology.
“The fact that these two women got the Nobel Prize highlights that the whole scientific community, and the world, really sees the potential in this technology,” Kovich says, “and that’s why we really need to get some regulatory reform across the finish line, so the U.S.—and U.S. livestock agriculture in particular—doesn’t fall behind the rest of the world.”
Kovich says FDA has stalled development of the emerging technology in the U.S. while other countries, such as China, continue to advance its development.
“Evaluating it, approving it, under the drug paradigm at FDA, is just not going to work. It’s out of step with the rest of the world and it’s putting us at a disadvantage,” he says.
Kovich says USDA has the right experience and an established regulatory framework for gene edited plants that can easily be extended to livestock.
