Humans have selectively bred animals and crops since the beginning of agriculture, but advances in biotechnology have provided genetic tools to select specific traits. First applied to animals in the late 1980s and accelerating with the development of new techniques in the 2010s, genome editing can add, remove, or alter genetic material at a precise location within an animal’s genome.  

The science to modify animal genomes has been developed and tested in controlled lab settings. Animals with heritable genetic modifications are not widely raised by conventional farmers in the United States or elsewhere. At this time, only genetically modified Atlantic salmon is currently approved for consumption in the U.S., but cattle and other species may be available soon.  

Heritable Genetic Modification in Food Animals, a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, offers recommendations for identifying the biological basis of a wide range of potential human health risks relevant to the regulation of heritable genetic information in food animals.  

Members of the study committee that wrote the report will present its conclusions and recommendations during a webinar. The speakers are:  

• Eric Hallerman (chair), professor of fish and wildlife conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• Fiona McCarthy, professor of animal and comparative biomedical sciences, University of Arizona

• Jon Oatley, associate dean for research and director, Functional Genomics Initiative and Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University

• Penny Riggs, associate professor of functional genomics, Texas A&M University 

The report is now available for immediate release. For inquiries, reporters can contact the Office of News and Public Information at tel. 202-334-2138 or email news@nas.edu.