Nobel Prize Serves Notice: The U.S is Falling Behind

For more than two years, by claiming regulatory jurisdiction over gene edited livestock, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stalled the development of an emerging technology with tremendous promise for livestock agriculture, including improved animal care, production efficiency and environmental impact. Today, the scientists who invented one of the most promising forms of this technology – the “CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors” – were awarded the Nobel Prize. The following statement may be attributed to Howard “A.V.” Roth, president of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and a hog farmer from Wauzeka, Wisconsin.

 

“The National Pork Producers Council has repeatedly called for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to be granted regulatory oversight of gene edited livestock. The USDA has the right experience and an established regulatory framework for gene edited plants that can easily be extended to livestock. 

 

“The FDA’s regulatory land grab has caused American agriculture to fall behind in the global race to develop this technology as countries, such as China, continue to advance its development. 

Video: How the corn-soy diet transformed swine nutrition

At the 2026 ASAS Midwest Section meeting, Dr. Robert Easter, professor emeritus of swine nutrition at the University of Illinois, spoke at the U.S. Soy sponsored Swine Application Symposium, offering a historical perspective on one of the most important developments in modern pig production: the corn-soybean meal diet. What today is considered a foundational feeding strategy was not always obvious or even accepted.