The approval in the United States for food use of pigs gene edited to resist Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, or PRRS, will be a good test for Canada’s year-old approval process for gene editing. PRRS is a nasty virus with significant economic implications for farms, but it also has an emotional toll on farmers and farm workers.

A gene-edited solution to reducing PRRS would be a tremendous win for animal welfare, the mental health of farm workers, and farm business productivity and profitability. … It will be an interesting test case, as genetic modification of livestock is something the public has not accepted, despite the potential improvements in animal welfare and food safety.

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There’s momentum in Canada to catch up to the rest of the world in speed of approval of new agriculture technologies, as government and industry push to improve the country’s lagging productivity.

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