GMOs and Livestock
In the United States, livestock have been consuming feed made from genetically modified crops for almost twenty years. More than two-thirds of GM corn and half of GM soybeans are used for livestock feed. In that time, GMOs have never been detected in the milk, meat or eggs derived from animals fed genetically modified feed. Meaning livestock process GMO feed in the same way as any other feed.
Many studies have been conducted on the potential for GMO DNA or proteins to be transferred into animal tissues. No intact or immunologically reactive protein or DNA has been detected in animal tissue.
Alison Van Eenennaam, Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Cooperative Extension Specialist at the University of California, Davis, confirms, “Genetically engineered crops are digested by animals in the same way as conventional crops. Evidence to date strongly suggests that feeding livestock with genetically engineered crops is equivalent to feeding unmodified feed sources in terms of nutrient composition, digestibility and feeding value.”