The concept of transgenic animals has been doing its rounds since sometime now and it is this technology that is responsible for creating a wide variety of organic foods out there in the market. Every animal is born with a set of genes that cannot easily be modified. Well, that was a concept of the past! In the case of transgenic animals of foreign DNA is introduced into the genetic structure of the animal so the animal has a specified set of characteristics. The technology that is used for introducing the foreign DNA is called recombinant DNA technology and by using this technology the scientists can bring about a sea change in the overall genetic structure of the animal. All cells inside the body including the stem cells are transformed after the introduction of the foreign DNA and the animal becomes a transgenic animal. The purpose of this technology is to make sure that the offspring that are born of the transgenic animal has an intended set of characteristics that are beneficial for human beings.
If we take a look at the historical background of transgenic animals we would see that this technology has its roots in selective breeding that has been practiced by farmers all across the globe for the enhancement of specific traits in animals. A good example of the application of this technology is increased production of milk. There are some varieties of animals out there that are high on the adaptability factor and there are some others who are known for high milk production. The success of using recombinant DNA technology lies in creating transgenic animals that have both the traits in them. By creating such transgenic animals, the farmers would be able to have animals that have high survival rates because of the high adaptability factor and still not worry about milk production because they are high on that component as well. The very ability of human beings to create transgenic animals is definitely a big feat, but in the recent years we have seen a couple of problems in this technology also.
The biological technology and medical technology that we have today isn’t thought to be completely capable of isolating specific strands of DNA without taking in some amount of the “bad” components. Of course things have improved a lot over the last couple of years and recombinant DNA technology is far more accurate, but this problem has not been completely taken care of yet. It is because of this problem that often transgenic animals have been found to have diseases and abnormalities that can dampen all the good traits in them. However, the success rate is very high so we shouldn’t really be concerned about the drawbacks anymore. Another important thing that needs to be handled as far as creation of transgenic animals are concerned, are the animal rights organizations. Transgenic animals are definitely capable of changing the way we see organic food today (fast disappearing resources), but some animal rights organizations feel that this is violation of animal rights and should not be continued.
