Genetic manipulation in Production of biopharmaceuticals

Transgenic animals are being bred to produce drugs, vaccines, hormones, and other substances of value to the pharmaceutical industry, in their milk. Known as “pharming”––a play on the word farming––animals are treated as living factories that offer a low-cost alternative for the large-scale production of drugs and proteins.

Factory farming

Much genetic manipulation is aimed at increasing the growth efficiency and productivity of animals who are farmed for their flesh, milk, and eggs. Despite the fact that traditional, selective breeding has already resulted in a wide range of serious animal welfare problems––including “broiler” chickens suffering from crippling deformities of limb bones and turkeys who have been bred with such large chest muscles that they can no longer mate naturally––the profit-driven food industry is forever seeking to create more with less, to the detriment of the animals involved.

http://www.cruelscience.ca/research-gm.htm