Prospective of Genetically Modified Feeds for Livestock Production

High yielding plants with low external inputs should be the main aim of plant breeding in the future. Apart from traditional breeding, plant biotechnology seems to have a certain potential to contribute to this objective. The cultivation of genetically modified plants (GMP) increased worldwide from 1.7 (1996) to about 1125 million ha (2008). That means about 8% of arable land all over the world was cultivated by GMP in 2008. Nutritional and safety assessment of feed/food from GMP is urgently necessary. The results of the studies can be summarized as: Up to now about 800 million ha of GMcrops have been cultivated all over the world; Most animal studies were done with GM-crops of the 1^st generation (with input traits); No unintended effects in composition or contamination (except lower mycotoxins) and nutritional assessment of feeds from GM-crops of the 1^st generation were registered in more than 100 studies with food producing animals; Transgenic DNA and newly expressed protein did not show other properties as plant DNA or native proteins during feed treatment or in the animals. The following prospectives of GM-feed should be mentioned: Other experimental designs are recommended for nutritional and safety assessment of feeds from GM-crops of the 2^nd generation (with output traits); Furthermore, case by case studies seem to be necessary to answer open questions, more groups with isogenic counterparts should be included for nutritional and safety assessment; Feeding studies with food producing animals should also be used for safety assessment.