Researchers Pull Plug on GE “Enviropig”

Canadian researchers have reportedly halted the development of genetically engineered (GE) pigs after the hog producers association sponsoring the project decided to stop funding it. Created in 1999 by scientists at the University of Guelph and financed by Ontario Pork, the so-called Enviropig™ apparently contained genes from mice and an E. coli bacterium that enabled the animal to digest plant phosphorus “more efficiently than conventional Yorkshire pigs,” thereby lessening the environmental impact of the manure. Had a company been found to take the product to market, the Enviropig™ would have become the first GE animal to enter the food supply if approved by the U.S. and Canadian governments for human consumption.

According to an April 2, 2012, New York Times report, however, the Enviropig™ met much resistance from environmental and consumer groups that oppose transgenic livestock for food purposes and feared the GE pig would make large-scale farming more profitable. At the same time, the GE pigs also turned out to be less cost-efficient than anticipated once a supplement that aids phosphorous digestion became more widely available and less expensive for hog farmers. Nevertheless, the researchers have preserved data and genetic material from the original herd of 16 Enviropigs™ should companies express an interest in the future. “It’s time to stop the program until the rest of the world catches up. And it is going to catch up,” lead researcher Cecil Forsberg was quoted as saying. “We’ve done enough research that we feel that if industry is interested they should be able to pick it up.”