Poll: Has ‘Pig 26’ changed your opinion on GM food?

(The Roslin Institute)

As The Independent reported yesterday, scientists have developed a new method of creating genetically-modified animals that addresses one of the principal objections of the anti-GM movement.

The new "gene-editing" technique is more precise than existing GM technology and does not involve the use of criticised antibiotic-resistance genes or leave any mark in the animal's genome other than the desired mutation.

Researchers at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh announced yesterday that a male piglet, called 'Pig 26', was born last August and, having undergone gene-editing, has a gene making it immune to African swine fever.

It is hoped that the treatment could create more disease-resistant animals in future and scientists say GM technology will be key to feeding the world. You can read our editorial on the subject here.

The first genetically-modified animal approved for human consumption is likely to be a fast-growing GM salmon, with a ruling expected from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) later this year.

Has Pig 26 changed your opinion of GM food? Take our poll.