FDA: Gene-edited Sausages Safe. Unless They’re Not.
Washington State University has produced sausages made from gene-edited meat. The US Food and Drug administration has authorized Washington State to allow gene-edited pig meat to enter the food supply.
This new food innovation is being led by Professor Jon Oatley. Oatley is a professor in WSU’s School of Molecular Biosciences. “It’s important for a university to set the precedent by working with federal regulators to get these animals introduced into the food supply,” said Jon Oatley.
The gene-edited meat is harvested from pigs born from embryos genetically altered using a genetic engineering tool called CRISPR. CRISPR allows Oatley and his team to produce pigs with enhanced traits for meat production. This would normally require selective breeding techniques. Selective breeding techniques take generational time to enhance meat producing traits. CRISPR is faster.
5 Little Pigs
The FDA authorized WSU to genetically alter 5 pigs, and have limited the scope of this authorization to only these 5 pigs. The 5 pigs were processed at WSU’s Meat Lab and their meat inspected by USDA inspectors. One of WSU’s meat scientists ground the meat into sausages which will be used for catering services designated for fundraising.
The planet’s population isn’t slowing and food scarcity is a significant issue in developing nations. Industry has invested heavily in synthesizing new proteins found in Beyond and Impossible Burgers to meet the demands of hungry humans.
It was only a matter of time before genetic engineering reached the livestock industry. My beef with these new food innovations is that we don’t fully understand the downwind impacts these synthesized food products have on our health.
We’ve learned some people’s digestive systems don’t behave well when consuming fake meet. And it took time and more investigation to understand some proteins didn’t sit well with some bodies.
Now, we’re witnessing the beginning of engineering livestock to have specific grown traits to get more meat and fattier or thinner hides. I don’t think we’ve respected the notion of DNA to be code. What happens to the human body when some of that code ‘off’ when it winds up in your belly?
We don’t know. But we’re rushing to find out.
-MJ