Funding Announced for Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Zero Net Emissions from Australian Agriculture
Biobeef Blog
by alvane
3M ago
AMAZING. Today the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources announced it is funding the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Zero Net Emissions from Agriculture  (ZNE-Ag) to the tune of AUD $87 million to further develop and scale up technologies to reduce methane emissions from grazing cattle and sheep, and to improve crop quality and production. The same week that the FAO released a report at COP28 to map pathways towards lower livestock emissions through the support of application of best practices in animal management such as reduced time to market ..read more
Visit website
Extension Critical to Mitigate Anticipated Increase in Livestock Sector GHG Emissions
Biobeef Blog
by alvane
3M ago
A 2023 report from the FAO “Pathways towards lower emissions: A global assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation options from livestock agrifood systems” revised their previous lifecycle assessment (LCA) estimate of the percentage of greenhouse gas (GHG) due to livestock to be 6.2 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq), equating to approximately 12% of of the estimated 50 to 52 Gt CO2eq total anthropogenic GHG emissions in 2015. Direct emissions from the livestock sector globally, encompassing CH4 from enteric fermentation, and CH4 and N2O from manure management ..read more
Visit website
New York Times Reporting on Agriculture
Biobeef Blog
by alvane
1y ago
Look I get it. The New York Times (NYT) does not like GMOs, industrial agriculture, factory farming or meat consumption. But I question the decision of such an influential media source to feature TWO front page articles detailing agriculture industry funding of agricultural scientists, Prof. Kevin Folta in 2015 and in 2022 Prof. Frank Mitloehner, who work doing public outreach in these fields. With the implication that they are “on the take” and promoting misinformation as a result of this funding. But what the NYT failed to show in these stories was that either of these public sector scientis ..read more
Visit website
A Word About Funding Graduate Students
Biobeef Blog
by alvane
1y ago
When I started as a professor at Davis 20 years ago, the cost of in-state graduate student fees was $5,037 per year (including health insurance of $966/year). Today they are $19,378 (including $5,472/year in health insurance). Add an additional $15,102 if the student is from out of state or international for a whopping $34.5K/year. To be clear the faculty advisor pays this cost, NOT the graduate student. And that does not cover a stipend for the student to actually live. A 50% teaching assistantship pays around $2,583 per month, or $30,995 per year. So faculty need to budget $19,378 + $30,995 ..read more
Visit website
DNA is NOT a drug. And regulating genome edited research animals as a drug is unworkable.
Biobeef Blog
by alvane
2y ago
Investigational research animals that have been genome edited CANNOT enter the food supply in the United States, irrespective of the edits they carry, unless the researcher that has produced that animal has submitted an FDA Investigational New Animal Drug (INAD), and additionally has obtained a food use authorization which requires a TON of paperwork and also data collection. PERIOD. So when I read the headline, “Gene-edited beef cattle receive regulatory clearance in U.S.”, I felt the need to pen this BLOG. And it is a little wonky (in the political sense) because that is the nature of regula ..read more
Visit website
Public Acceptance of Animal Genomics and Biotechnology
Biobeef Blog
by alvane
2y ago
Animal biotechnology is the application of modern molecular techniques to animals. Genetic engineering and cloning are two older forms of animal biotechnology , and genome editing is a more recent entrant. Animal genomics is the scientific study of structure, function and interrelationships of both individual genes and the genome in its entirety. Utilization of genomic information in breeding is often referred to as genomic selection (GS). In my view these two fields – biotechnology and genomics – face entirely different public acceptance issues. I wrote a conference proceedings paper for a fo ..read more
Visit website
Contemplated Regulatory Framework (Part #4)
Biobeef Blog
by alvane
2y ago
This is part 4 of a 1, 2, 3, 4 part series on Regulation of Genetically Modified Animals I am in perhaps a somewhat rare position regarding the contemplated USDA regulatory framework, as I actually have several animals from amenable species (sheep, cattle) on the ground that were developed using “techniques that use recombinant, synthesized, or amplified nucleic acids to modify or create a genome” for “agricultural purposes”.  I have not published these data and they are the dissertation research projects of graduate students, and so I will only say that these animals were produced using ..read more
Visit website
Regulation of Genetically Modified Animals Part #3
Biobeef Blog
by alvane
2y ago
This is part 3 of a 1, 2, 3, 4 part series on Regulation of Genetically Modified Animals So what is the USDA’s proposal for the regulation of genetically engineered animals? In a nutshell, it proposes moving regulation of food animals that are genetically engineered for agricultural purposes such as human or animal food, fiber, and labor from FDA to USDA. This means that intentional genomic alterations in food animals would no longer be automatically and mandatorily regulated by the FDA as “drugs”. That is good news, because genetic variation between individuals cannot reasonably be considered ..read more
Visit website
Regulation of Genetically Modified Animals Part #2
Biobeef Blog
by alvane
2y ago
This is part 2 of a 1, 2, 3, 4 part series on Regulation of Genetically Modified Animals The “Guidance for Industry #187” entitled, “Regulation of Intentionally Altered Genomic DNA in Animals” was published in the Federal Register in 2017, and a public comment period followed. I wrote about my concerns regarding this approach in a previous BLOG. The FDA took comments on this draft revised guidance during the 90-day public comment period which closed June 19, 2017. As I wrote in a BLOG in January 2019, and what remains true today, is that there has been ZERO formal response to the many comments ..read more
Visit website
Regulation of Genetically Modified Animals Part #1
Biobeef Blog
by alvane
2y ago
This is part 1 of a 1, 2, 3, 4 part series on Regulation of Genetically Modified Animals Ever since the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its plans to regulate genomic alterations in genome edited animals as veterinary drugs in January 2017, I have been a vocal critic of this regulatory approach. I am a livestock geneticist, and have seen the negative impact that this expensive and unpredictable regulatory approach has had on the development of genetically engineered animals. Even today, there has not yet been the sale of a single food product from a genetically engineered animal ..read more
Visit website

Follow Biobeef Blog on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR