Biotechnology in the Barnyard

Terry Etherton

It has become increasingly evident that biotechnological developments in a variety of scientific and engineering disciplines will be needed to support the growing World population, which is expected to double in the next 40 years.

It has been estimated that the supply of food required to adequately meet human nutritional needs over the next 40 years is quantitatively equal to the amount of food previously produced throughout the entire history of humankind! This poses a daunting challenge for several reasons. First, virtually all land suitable for farming world-wide is being farmed. Secondly, destruction of tropical rainforest or wildlife habitat is not a viable option. The only viable solution is to develop new biotechnologies that enhance food production efficiency – that is an increase in the quantity of milk produced per unit of feed consumed or, in the case of meat animals, an increase in lean tissue (muscle) gain per unit of feed consumed.

To develop these technologies requires an investment in discovery research. Discovery research, as the phrase implies, is the process of discovering new scientific findings that may lead to the development of a new product or service. It is challenging research! Many good ideas don’t pan out and the investment is sizeable. One of the essential elements of early discovery research is to determine efficacy, does it work, how well does it work? After establishing this, great effort spent to develop the discovery into a product that can be used on the farm. Much work is done to test safety (both animal and human), to evaluate environmental issues and to develop least cost production systems. It is not uncommon for a company developing a product to spend over $100 million on the discovery and development phases for developing products based on animal biotechnology research. This expenditure does not include capital costs that may be necessary to build the facilities to produce large quantities of the new compound.

The time from discovery to release of a biotechnological product can take as long as 10 to 15 years! A considerable portion of this time is devoted to seeking and gaining regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA has oversight for evaluating all animal biotechnologies to assure that they are: 1) effective; 2) do not pose any increased risk to the animal; and 3) that consumption of meat and milk from animals treated with a novel biotechnology product is safe for consumers. The FDA takes their mandate very seriously. We are fortunate to live in a country that has the best regulatory agency in the World for evaluating new animal biotechnologies.

There are important ramifications associated with the cost of developing a biotechnology product for commercial application at the farm. It is a long term process! We simply can’t wait until problems arise about food supply in the future and expect a “quick fix.” It takes many years to move a scientific discovery to a product that benefits society. Given the expanding World population the question is not isthere going to be a problem with food availability but when. A sensible solution is to make the investment today, and continue our discovery and development of novel biotechnologies that will improve food production efficiency. Based on past progress, many animal scientists believe that we can feed the World in the future, provided we continue to invest in innovative and important research.

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