The safety of mRNA vaccines created for protection against Covid-19 remains controversial. The accuracy and extent of testing has been questioned by many, including government officials and industry employees. Currently, some of these vaccines are approved in the US only under ‘Emergency Use Authorisation, but as of April 18, “the monovalent Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines are no longer even authorised for use in the US.” Now, the controversy has extended to using mRNA vaccines in pigs, cows and other livestock. For example, the Texas Agriculture Commissioner recently stated that “since news of the development of mRNA vaccines and mRNA-related treatments for livestock came to our attention, we have been working towards developing a fact- and science-based assessment of the risks.”

A company called Good Ranchers that sources all its meat from US independent farms and also strongly supports more accurate meat product labelling, states that “recently, some states have worked to make the mRNA vaccines mandatory. We have never and will never source meat from any farm that uses mRNA vaccines in their animals.” Years ago, Bayer joined with Germany-based BioNTech to develop mRNA vaccines for animals. Harrisvaccines created a swine mRNA vaccine platform called Sequivity in 2015. Merck Animal Health purchased it around that time. The company describes the platform as able to “create custom [veterinary] prescription products” such as vaccines against PCV2, PCV3, and PED. It also “allows for the creation of multivalent formulations by blending RNA particles to target multiple swine pathogens in one shot.” The US government granted a conditional licence for the Sequivity “PED Vaccine, RNA Caution” product sometime before 2015. Efficacy and potency test studies were in progress then. Dr Robert Malone, the originator of mRNA technology and very much against its use in vaccines, recently stated that Sequivity, which he calls a ‘pseudo mRNA’ vaccine, “has been approved for swine by the US Department of Agriculture, is on the market now and there is no special labelling for the meat.” However, in a recent podcast, molecular biologist Dr Kevin Folta of the University of Florida’s department of horticulture describes the controversy of using mRNA vaccines in livestock as “manufactured.”

One of his guests, Dr Alison Van Eenennaam of the University of California-Davis, noted that mRNA breaks down quickly and would not survive the digestive process. However, scientists in China concluded in a 2022 study “that bovine milk-derived exosome-based-mRNA vaccine could serve as a new strategy for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection. Meanwhile, it can also work as a new oral delivery system for mRNA.” For his part, Dr Malone recently stated that the mRNA in vaccines “has not been tested and it is not ‘normal’ mRNA like what is found in the body … ‘Pseudo’ uridine has been substituted for uridine in the mRNA. We ingest mRNA and DNA daily in our food. Our stomachs break it down. But this is not normal mRNA. So, who knows?” He also questioned the safety of other vaccine components such as lipid nano particles. “Will there be trace amounts in the meat? Will heat break it down? How much heat? Are there other chemical components in the products? We just do not know. If [testing] has been done, show me the data.”

Analysis of pig DNA has offered insights into important correlations with muscle growth. This can provide tools to help predict piglet growth and support pig breeding programmes. Researchers from the Roslin Institute and the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health sought to find and examine regions of DNA that regulate muscle development in piglets. The team used a technique to study DNA in frozen tissue, which is advantageous because it can help limit the numbers of animals used for research. They applied this technique to samples from muscle in piglets at various stages of development, to pinpoint regions of DNA that control activity in genes linked to muscle growth, and to study activity in these genes. Variations in regions of DNA were observed between small and large piglets. These variations suggest a difference in how DNA is regulated – which in turn governs muscle growth – between large and small piglets. Researchers hope to explore their data further to identify variations in the genetic code of pigs that are linked to growth, and better understand how these differences regulate the activity of key genes involved in muscle development, to inform pig breeding programmes.

Research carried out by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute in Northern Ireland and Queen’s University, Belfast has found that stomach ulcers may cause changes in the way pigs rest, or may be the result of such changes. Therefore, changes in behaviour may allow an ulcer to be detected before more serious damage occurs. Also, pigs with stomach ulcers have been shown to be less prone to harmful behaviours such as tail biting. Stomach ulcers are an important pathological condition in pig farming. Research in several European countries suggests that approximately 20% of slaughtered pigs have mild ulcers, whilst another 10% have severe ulcers. The researchers from the two institutions identified pigs with and without stomach ulcers at slaughter, and then compared their behaviour using video recordings taken in the two weeks prior to slaughter.

The most obvious difference was the side they chose to rest on. Pigs with stomach ulcers (even mild ones) were much less likely to lie on their right side than those without ulcers (on average 12% of the time, as compared to 25% of the time for those without ulcers). The research team also observed that pigs with stomach ulcers showed less harmful social behaviour than those without ulcers; tail biting occurred only a third as often as in pigs without ulcers, and ear biting half as often. Both ulcers and harmful social behaviour are increased by stress, and it is conceivable that some pigs respond to stress by adapting their behaviour, while others that do not act upon it may suffer more physical consequences.

China’s pork production in 2022 rose 4.6% from 2021, to the highest level since 2014, according to official data released in mid-January that contradicted expectations of lower growth, reported Reuters. Pork output from the world’s top meat producer reached 55.41 million tons, the highest since 56.71 million tons eight years ago. Output was boosted by a high fourth-quarter production of 13.91 million tons, according to Reuters calculations based on data from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics. This was 0.87% higher than the same quarter a year earlier, despite labour shortages in slaughterhouses due to the COVID outbreaks. Farmers have raised heavier hogs in the hope of benefiting from an expected recovery in demand and prices, which could have boosted output. However, demand remained subdued as the resurgence of the COVID-19 epidemic in China caused many to stay at home, causing prices to fall.

“Feed production has been weak throughout 2022 and we have also seen this reflected in the lower yearly soybean import number. It is difficult to reconcile this higher meat production number with the declines seen in feed production and soybean imports,” said Darin Friedrichs, co-founder of Shanghai-based agriculture consultancy Sitonia Consulting. The data shows that China’s pork production has increased every quarter year-on-year for the last two years despite weak demand. China’s beef output rose 3% last year to 7.18 million tons, the data also showed, while poultry output rose 2.6% to 24.43 million tons and lamb and mutton increased 2% to 5.25 million tons.

Research carried out by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute in Northern Ireland and Queen’s University, Belfast has found that stomach ulcers may cause changes in the way pigs rest, or may be the result of such changes. Therefore, changes in behaviour may allow an ulcer to be detected before more serious damage occurs. Also, pigs with stomach ulcers have been shown to be less prone to harmful behaviours such as tail biting. Stomach ulcers are an important pathological condition in pig farming. Research in several European countries suggests that approximately 20% of slaughtered pigs have mild ulcers, whilst another 10% have severe ulcers.

The researchers from the two institutions identified pigs with and without stomach ulcers at slaughter, and then compared their behaviour using video recordings taken in the two weeks prior to slaughter. The most obvious difference was the side they chose to rest on. Pigs with stomach ulcers (even mild ones) were much less likely to lie on their right side than those without ulcers (on average 12% of the time, as compared to 25% of the time for those without ulcers).

The research team also observed that pigs with stomach ulcers showed less harmful social behaviour than those without ulcers; tail biting occurred only a third as often as in pigs without ulcers, and ear biting half as often. Both ulcers and harmful social behaviour are increased by stress, and it is conceivable that some pigs respond to stress by adapting their behaviour, while others that do not act upon it may suffer more physical consequences.

Wood is an ideal enrichment material for piglets. Pig welfare expert Dr Irene Camerlink reflected on this in the pages of Pig Progress after seeing the Christmas trees thrown away in January. Pinewood, which can be obtained for free, can be a cheap alternative to buying toys and can help reduce tail-chewing.

Next to straw, wood is one of the best options for attracting and maintaining the interest of pigs. It can be investigated, manipulated, chewed and it does not matter if small pieces are swallowed. Wood is also durable, widely available, low risk from a biosecurity point of view and in many cases can be sourced locally at low cost. It can also be provided in different diameters for animals of different sexes and ages (growing piglets, sows, boars).

Wood types differ in their softness and moisture content. In one study, pigs consumed spruce posts more quickly than beech, larch or Scots pine. Soft wood therefore needs to be replaced more quickly. None of the tree species caused any internal damage (e.g. damage to the mouth, digestive tract or liver). Although spruce is favoured by pigs, it did not result in less tail chewing in two studies in Ireland (1080 pigs). However, in a Finnish study (780 pigs), where fresh wood was suspended horizontally, piglets showed less tail and ear biting. In conclusion, there is no guarantee that fresh wood reduces tail biting, but it seems to pose little risk to pigs and keeps them busy for a while.