PRRS-resistant pigs an industry "game-changer"

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 04:15:02 GMT

Since the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) virus first appeared in the U.S. in 1987, it has cost the U.S. pork industry roughly $10 billion.

PRRS causes severe pneumonia or respiratory problems in newborn piglets and young pigs, resulting in a 20 percent to 80 percent mortality rate, and reproductive failure in sows.

Now, teams of researchers from the University of Missouri and Kansas State University have collaborated with experts from Genus plc to develop the first generation of pigs resistant to PRRS.

Randall Prather, a distinguished professor of animal sciences at the University of Missouri and one of the study’s researchers, explained the science behind PRRS itself.

“Once inside the pigs, PRRS needs some help to spread; it gets that help from a protein called CD163,” he explained. “We were able to breed a litter of pigs that do not produce this protein, and as a result, the virus doesn’t spread. When we exposed the pigs to PRRS, they did not get sick and continued to gain weight normally.”

Raymond “Bob” Rowland, professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology at Kansas State University and another researcher on the project, praised the discovery, stressing that it not only will significantly improve animal well-bring but will also save hundreds of millions of dollars each year. In the U.S. alone, PRRS leads to annual losses of approximately $664 million.

“In the decades that we have had the PRRS virus, we have looked at vaccines, diagnostics and other strategies and we have never been able to eliminate the disease,” Rowland said. “This is the first time that we have established the potential to eliminate this devastating disease.”

The collaborative research appears in Nature Biotechnology in the article, “ Gene-edited pigs are protected from porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus .”

“The demonstration of genetic resistance to the PRRS virus by gene editing is a potential game changer for the pork industry,” said Jonathan Lightner, Chief Scientific Officer and Head of R&D of Genus plc. “There are several critical challenges ahead as we develop and commercialize this technology; however, the promise is clear, and Genus is committed to developing its potential. Genus is dedicated to the responsible exploration of new innovations that benefit the well-being of animals, farmers, and ultimately consumers.”

Related Links

From the University of Missouri: Pigs that are Resistant to Incurable Disease Developed at University of Missouri
From Kansas State University: Research develops breakthrough technology to address devastating pig disease PRRS
From Genus plc: Genus tackles major pig disease with breakthrough technology

The Generational Divide Shows in our Food System, Too

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 12:00:42 GMT

By Elizabeth K. Gardner, Purdue University

Gen Z households are struggling more to put food on the table compared to those of Millennials, Gen X and Boomers, according to the Consumer Food Insights Report .

Thirty percent of Gen Z households report seeking groceries from a food pantry, church or other charity in the last 30 days, compared to 8% of Boomer households, it showed.

The survey-based report out of Purdue University’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability assesses food security and spending, consumer satisfaction and values, support of agricultural and food policies and trust in information sources.

In addition to the monthly survey, the team analyzed how responses differed between respondents of different age groups. The team studied survey data from January to June of 2022 and divided respondents into the age groups of Gen Z (those born after 1996), Millennials (those born from 1981-1996), Gen X (those born from 1965-1980) and Boomers+ (those born before 1965). The results showed differences in food security, beliefs about their food and food system, shopping habits, policy support and in what information sources they trust.

“Since January, around 30% of Gen Z adults have experienced or are experiencing food insecurity, compared to around 19% of Millennial and Gen X adults and 7% of Boomers,” said Jayson Lusk, the head and distinguished professor of agricultural economics at Purdue, who leads the center. “Those who are younger tend to have lower incomes, so the results aren’t necessarily surprising, but we need to pay attention to it. Food inflation is outpacing salary growth, and it hits those with the lowest incomes the hardest.”

Purdue experts conducted and evaluated the survey, which included 1,200 consumers across the U.S.

Additional key results include:
• 16% of all households are food insecure.
• Most consumers are worried about the impacts of the war in Ukraine on food supplies.
• Food demand and happiness continue to be price insensitive.
• Trust in the FDA dropped more than 20% from last month.
• A Sustainable Food Purchasing (SFP) Index of 70/100.

The survey results show consumers clearly follow current events, Lusk said. Seventy percent of respondents are worried about the Russia-Ukraine war affecting global food supplies, and 58% said the war had impacted the price or availability of their food.

The continuing drop in trust of the Food and Drug Administration also correlates with its recent involvement in controversies, he said.

It is interesting that the rapid rise of food prices does not seem to have yet changed how Americans think or feel about their food, as food satisfaction measures remain strong, said Sam Polzin, a food and agriculture survey scientist for the center and co-author of the report.

“Official government estimates show food prices, like gas prices, dramatically rising over the past year, though not quite as sharply as gas,” Polzin said. “However, consumers report being extremely dissatisfied with gas affordability but feeling neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with food affordability. Perhaps this says more about the unique power gas prices have on the American psyche.”

The Sustainable Food Purchasing Index offers insight into how sustainability and health relate to consumer behaviors. It is a self-reported assessment of how consumer shopping habits correspond with healthy diets from sustainable food systems. The June score was the highest of the survey to date but remains broadly consistent, Polzin said. Millennials scored the highest on the environment, social and nutrition indicators, while consumers in the Boomers+ group scored higher on the taste, economic and security indicators.

Lusk further discusses the report in his blog .

Read More:

Meat Matters: Gen Z - Who Will They Believe?

How the Consumer Dollar Drives Changes in the Industry

Produce Research

PRRS-resistant pigs an industry "game-changer"

The Generational Divide Shows in our Food System, Too