Livestock

By Robin DeRieux

COWS ARE SPECIAL. As ruminants, they eat grass and other plants that are inedible to people, transforming forage into steak and hamburgers and other tasty high-protein beef products.

Over the past few decades, the beef industry has made significant improvements in productivity—generating more food from fewer numbers of cattle. Better breeding and other innovations in animal science research have played a starring role in these advances.

Gene Editing Can Complement Traditional Food-Animal Improvements
By Pat Bailey (UC Davis News)

• Gene editing builds on traditional breeding successes
• The technology enhances sustainability plus animal health and welfare
• Questions remain about regulatory issues

Gene editing — one of the newest and most promising tools of biotechnology — enables animal breeders to make beneficial genetic changes, without bringing along unwanted genetic changes.