Genetically engineered animals in agriculture: Trait selection and public health

The release of the FDA Final Guidance on the commercialization of genetically engineered animals has sparked renewed discussion over the ethical, consumer, and regulatory implications of transgenesis in animal agriculture. Human health concerns have focused on the zoonotic potential of xenotransplanted endogenous retroviruses and the role of growth hormone constructs in cancer promotion, but have neglected to address the observed inverse relationship between productivity and immune competence. Given the proportion of emerging and reemerging human pathogens originating from animal agricultural, further deterioration in disease resistance and biodiversity among production animals may have global public health implications. The unprecedented emergence and spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenzavirus A subtype H5N1 underscores the human health importance of agricultural animal disease susceptibility. The production-related diseases associated with extant breeding technologies are reviewed, as well as the predictable anthropocentric consequences of the application of biotechnology with the continued emphasis on prolificacy at the potential expense of disease resistance.