Health Canada Clears Genetically Modified Pigs for Human Consumption

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Health Canada Clears Genetically Modified Pigs for Human Consumption

www.theepochtimes.com www.theepochtimes.com

Health Canada has approved human consumption of pork from pigs that have undergone genetic modification to make them resistant to certain swine viruses.

Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced on Jan. 23 the completion of safety assessments on pigs that have been genetically modified to be resistant to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome viruses (PRRSV).
“Foods made from these pigs are as safe and nutritious for people to eat as pork currently available in Canada,” Health Canada said in a release.
UK-based Genus PLC and Winnipeg-based PIC Canada Ltd. each submitted applications to Health Canada to bring their gene-edited products to market as both food and livestock feed.
Health Canada said PRRSV-resistant pigs are already permitted for consumption in the United States, Brazil, and Colombia but noted that Genus PLC has no plans to sell the pigs “before further regulatory authorization in other key markets.”
The department said that PRRSV is one of the most “devastating” and highly contagious diseases in commercially raised pigs worldwide, and can cause reproductive issues such as infertility, late-term abortions, and stillbirths. The disease can cause respiratory illness in piglets, resulting in difficulty breathing, lung inflammation, and death. It can also increase pigs’ susceptibility to other illnesses.
There are no effective treatments for the disease, and vaccination has only been partially effective, the department said.



The pigs have undergone a modification to remove a small part of the gene associated with PRRSV infection, resulting in their immunity to the disease. “In every other way, the PRRSV-resistant pigs are identical to other pigs,” the health department said.

Health Canada said it conducted a scientific assessment on the pigs and found this genetic change would not pose a “greater risk to human health than pigs currently available on the Canadian market.” The department also said that it has concluded that these pigs would not have any effect on allergies, and that their nutritional value is equivalent to that of other pigs.The department said “no special labelling” would be required for foods from PRRSV-resistant pigs because no health or safety concerns were discovered.
The advocacy group Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) said it opposes Health Canada’s approval of genetically engineered pork.

“If gene-edited pigs actually get produced and sold, Canadians won’t know if the meat in their grocery cart is from these genetically engineered animals,” Lucy Sharratt, coordinator for the CBAN, said in a statement.

“Health Canada has approved meat from gene-edited pigs without any requirement to label it.”

The Epoch Times contacted Health Canada for comment but did not hear back by publication time.

Health Canada announced in November it had indefinitely paused a proposal to exclude cloned cattle and swine from the mandatory pre-market safety evaluation. This decision came following objections from activists and the public on the policy, with some saying that Canadians could soon be unknowingly eating cloned products.
The department said it had received “significant input from both consumers and industry about the implications of this potential policy update,” and it was therefore pausing the policy update to “provide time for further discussions and consideration.”
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They’ve CRISPRed the bacon.
 
Upvote 13
i really wish they would stop fucking with the food.
 
Great now lets push for labels so i may avoid it. Make it cost prohibitive to sell it.
 
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