This is the VOA SpecialEnglish Agriculture Report.
Food in the United States can include genetically engineeredcrops. No genetically engineered animals, however, have yet beenapproved by the government to be eaten. But federal officialsannounced that some experimental pigs might have entered the foodsupply. The food safety officials said there appeared to be nodanger, though, if people ate meat from these animals.
The pigs were born during research at the University of Illinoisin Urbana-Champaign. The researchers wanted to create a pig thatcould produce more milk. So they took genetic material from a cowand put it into pigs. The scientists also designed a gene to improvethe ability of baby pigs to process milk.
The goal of the research was to create a faster-growing pig.These experiments began in two-thousand-one. They ended thisJanuary.
In all, the pigs gave birth to three-hundred-eighty-six babies.The researchers sold these piglets to an animal seller, who then mayhave sold them for use as food.
The Illinois researchers told federal officials that the animalsdid not possess any changed genes from their parents. For thisreason, the scientists said they believed they could sell the youngpigs to market. The Food and Drug Administration, however, says theresearchers were supposed to destroy the animals to keep them out ofthe food supply.
The F-D-A said it did not have enough information to confirm thatno engineered genes were passed on to the piglets. Even so, agencyofficials said the scientific evidence they had suggested there wasno risk to public health.
Still, the case has added to the issue over geneticallyengineered foods. Critics say there may be unknown risks. A fewyears ago, some corn called StarLink entered the American foodsupply without approval.
Scientists gave this corn a protein poisonous to some insectsthat attack corn crops. But this protein was not shown to break downeasily in the human stomach. So the government approved StarLink foranimals but not for people.
Some people said they got sick after they ate food products madewith the StarLink. But the producer of the corn noted thatgovernment reports said no link was proven.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by MarioRitter.