Author : Beever, D.E.

Summary : Conclusion: On the basis available to date there does not to be any increased risk to animals consuming GM crops or to humans consuming the products of animals fed on rations containing GM feeds. Clearly the issues regarding the safety and efficacy of GM crops for feeding to farm livestock need to be kept under constant review and a concerted system of evaluation needs to be agreed amongst those countries wishing to exploit this new technology. One possible area of concern will be the evaluation of by product feeds destined for animal feeding which may be derived from GM crops which have been developed for other purposes, especially industrial uses. In this regard, it will be prudent to assume feeds such as rape seed meal, corn gluten meal or sugar beet feed derived from such crops are not be the same as their existing non-GM counterparts until they have been evaluated with respect to palatibility, allergenicity, digestibility, animal productivity and product composition.