April 15, 2013

food for the future: the potential of GM animals

As the first GM animal is going through the regulatory process in the US (GM Salmon), there are other GM animals in an advanced research stage that have qualities not achievable by conventional breeding and there is a new technology (genome editing) that increases the opportunities for GM.  On top of this we have a broader landscape of pressures on food security and a growing world population which mean that we need to consider all potentially useful technologies.

In the light of this, the SMC invited one of the UK’s leading experts on GM animals, Professor Helen Sang, to describe some of the on-going applications of GM technologies in farm animals and the issues around regulation and public acceptance.

Speakers:

Professor Helen Sang, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh

Bruce Whitelaw,  Professor of Animal Biotechnology, The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies Division of Developmental Biology University of Edinburgh

Chris Warkup, President of the British Society of Animal Science and Director of the Biosciences Knowledge Transfer Network