A community of experts held a series of virtual workshop sessions on regulatory approaches for agricultural applications of animal biotechnology. The key points of the discussions are summarized in an open-access review article released in Transgenic Research.

The workshop sessions highlighted the following:

• - There are still several challenges for animal biotech to receive the trust and acceptance and become available for farmers to meet the global demand for food products and at the same time enhance animal welfare and reduce environmental impacts.
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• - Communication strategies that consider consumers' perspectives can help in public awareness about the benefits of the technology and the costs of inactions.
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• - Public perception and science-based regulations determine the degree of animal biotech adoption.
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• - Genome editing technology offers an opportunity to hasten the improvement of animal welfare and reduce the impacts on the environment.

The experts involved in the workshops include Eric M. Hallerman of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Diane Wray-Cahen of U.S. Department of Agriculture, ISAAA representatives Rhodora Romero-Aldemita, Margaret Karembu, and Godfrey Ngure, among others. They have identified concrete steps to reach a favorable status for GM and gene-edited animals for agriculture. These include building human infrastructure for effective regulatory oversight, training for scientists on regulatory systems and communication, and continuous communication between the experts and the public to build trust and transparency.

Read more recommendations in Transgenic Research.