Gene-Edited Pigs: Reduced Antibiotic Use is Key Motivator for Consumer Acceptance

A new Circana study shows U.S. consumers believe reducing the need for antibiotics is a major motivator to purchase pork from gene-edited pigs.

The research, commissioned by PIC, was conducted in fall 2025 and polled more than 5,000 pork consumers from eight key countries, representative across genders and ages 18 to 70.

“Circana has conducted research on this topic for more than three years, consistently finding that gene-edited pork scores in the upper quintiles, which indicates average to above average purchase likelihood,” Staci Covkin, Circana Principal of Innovation, Consumer & Shopper Insights, says in a release.

In the Circana study, 94% of consumers indicated they are open to purchasing pork from gene-edited pigs. Meanwhile, 70% of consumers expressed a desire for greater transparency across all pork production, indicating that pork should always include additional information on the package

Consumers are Becoming More Open to Gene Editing
The study also shows that Americans are becoming more aware of gene editing. In fact, 57% of Americans indicated they are familiar with gene editing in fall of 2025, compared to 37% in December 2024.

The findings of this new research closely align with recent research from The Center for Food Integrity (CFI) and the Food Industry Association (FMI), which also found that pork from gene-edited pigs performed above benchmark norms for purchase likelihood and that the strongest acceptance is driven by reduced antibiotic use.