Prevalence and impacts of genetically engineered feedstuffs on livestock populations

"These field data sets representing billions of observations did not reveal unfavorable or unexpected trends in livestock health and productivity. The available health indicators from US livestock suggest that these rates actually improved over time despite widespread adoption of GE crops in US agriculture and increasing levels of GE content in livestock diets. There was no indication of worsening animal health after the introduction of GE feed, and productivity improvements continued in the same direction and at similar rates as those that were observed before the introduction of GE crop varieties in 1996."

*The scientific review of data from USDA datasets that include more than 100 billion animals fed large amounts of GM crops concludes that there is no indication of adverse health effects.

Alison Van Eenennaam from the University of California-Davis published an Invited Review in the Journal of Animal Science [open access pdf file that comprehensively reviewed the published literature about animals fed GM crops. Data for the decade after 2000, which is a period when billions of animals were fed diets containing large quantities of GM feeds, was compared to data from prior to 1994 (pre-GM crops).

Data were derived for broilers, dairy cattle, beef cattle and swine. The authors conclude there is no evidence of reduced performance or increased adverse health.

The authors report that:

• Numerous experimental studies have consistently revealed that the performance and health of GE-fed animals are comparable with those fed isogenic non-GE crop lines
• No study has revealed any differences in the nutritional profile of animal products derived from GE-fed animals
• Because DNA and protein are normal components of the diet that are digested, there are no detectable or reliably quantifiable traces of GE components in milk, meat and eggs following consumption of GE feed

A. L. Van Eenennaam and A. E. Young in Journal of Animal Science 2014
Abstract

Globally, food-producing animals consume 70 to 90% of genetically engineered (GE) crop biomass. This review briefly summarizes the scientific literature on performance and health of animals consuming feed containing GE ingredients and composition of products derived from them. It also discusses the field experience of feeding GE feed sources to commercial livestock populations and summarizes the suppliers of GE and non-GE animal feed in global trade. Numerous experimental studies have consistently revealed that the performance and health of GE-fed animals are comparable with those fed isogenic non-GE crop lines. United States animal agriculture produces over 9 billion food-producing animals annually, and more than 95% of these animals consume feed containing GE ingredients. Data on livestock productivity and health were collated from publicly available sources from 1983, before the introduction of GE crops in 1996, and subsequently through 2011, a period with high levels of predominately GE animal feed. These field data sets representing over 100 billion animals following the introduction of GE crops did not reveal unfavorable or perturbed trends in livestock health and productivity. No study has revealed any differences in the nutritional profile of animal products derived from GE-fed animals. Because DNA and protein are normal components of the diet that are digested, there are no detectable or reliably quantifiable traces of GE components in milk, meat, and eggs following consumption of GE feed. Globally, countries that are cultivating GE corn and soy are the major livestock feed exporters. Asynchronous regulatory approvals (i.e., cultivation approvals of GE varieties in exporting countries occurring before food and feed approvals in importing countries) have resulted in trade disruptions. This is likely to be increasingly problematic in the future as there are a large number of “second generation” GE crops with altered output traits for improved livestock feed in the development and regulatory pipeline. Additionally, advanced techniques to affect targeted genome modifications are emerging, and it is not clear whether these will be encompassed by the current GE process-based trigger for regulatory oversight. There is a pressing need for international harmonization of both regulatory frameworks for GE crops and governance of advanced breeding techniques to prevent widespread disruptions in international trade of livestock feedstuffs in the future.

Key words:
genetic engineering GMO safety livestock feed

@ Prevalence and impacts of genetically engineered feedstuffs on livestock populations: Journal of Animal Science

*Update: A reader from the industry sent extra notes that have been added at the top.