Plans for GM livestock fail the poor

DAVID ADAM

[LONDON] Research to develop genetically modified (GM) animals is focusing on producing cheaper food for the West, and risks ignoring the technology's potential to help agriculture in the developing world, the Royal Society warned this week.

A report on the use of GM animals calls for greater investment for work to create animals resistant to foot-and-mouth disease and sleeping sickness. "Creating disease-resistant animals is especially important for the farmers in the developing world and the society recommends that research efforts on this technology are addressed with particular urgency," the report says.

It calls for greater cooperation between universities and biotechnology companies to develop disease-resistant GM animal technology and for "a willingness to share knowledge currently restricted under patent and licensing agreements".

Bob May, the society's president, says big agricultural businesses have little incentive to address problems unique to countries that cannot afford GM technology. The recommendation "must be taken seriously because GM technologies could have great benefits for developing countries," he says.

The report also recommends a ban on rearing GM fish in marine pens. Approval for commercial production of GM salmon should only be given if the fish are kept in landlocked tanks, it states. This echoes recommendations made by a panel from the Royal Society of Canada earlier this year (see Nature 409, 749; 2001). A US company, Aqua Bounty Farms, has developed GM salmon that grow faster than normal, prompting fears that the fish will disrupt natural salmon populations if they escape (see Nature 406, 10–12; 2000).

All laboratories working on GM animal technology should have emergency plans for containment, the report adds, in case the animals escape or are released deliberately.

Category: 29. GMOs