GENETIC ENGINEERING AND FARMING IN ANIMALS: A REVIEW

Availability of animal protein for human consumption is very low in the developing countries mainly because of low productivity of existing livestock; ways and means to improve productivity through breeding are discussed and some basic issues requiring further research pointed out. Human beings have been altering the characteristics of farm animals through selective breeding since the beginning of domestication thousands of years ago. In recent decades, selective breeding has been aided by a number of assisted reproductive technologies such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer. Within the globalized animal breeding industry, a small number of large multinational companies control the vast majority of livestock and poultry breeding. Increasingly, specialized breeds have been developed that produce very high yields of a single commodity (such as meat, milk or eggs). The drive to increase productivity has, in many cases, had serious consequences for the health and welfare of the animals