Introduction There are numerous problems associated with the use of animals and animal products for human consumption. The increase in human population has led to an increasing demand for meat and other animal products. This has fundamentally changed the way we raise and raise animals over the last 50 years. Through the increase in the size and intensity of animal husbandry, animal density is significantly higher. This has led to numerous problems associated with animal husbandry. Above all, animal diseases are transmitted more easily and their economic impact is greater. Examples include foodborne and oral disease, classical swine fever, Newcastle disease, swine vascular disease, and Q fever (Warenautoriteit 2014). Many of these diseases also carry the risk of transmission to humans and can cause serious health problems. The onset of such diseases can lead to significant economic losses, both in the form of lost production through large-scale extermination of infected animals, and through costs associated with adverse effects on human health. Therefore there is great interest in finding solutions to these problems. One such solution has been the use of antibiotics in farm animals. While this has reduced the risk of some diseases, over the years this has led to the emergence of many antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, which in themselves pose a great risk to human health. With the advent of genetic engineering technologies it has become possible to create new farm animals that are less susceptible to certain diseases or may not transmit such diseases to humans (Houdebine 2009; Laible 2009). But genetic engineering allows us to do much more; allows us to choose desirable traits or introduce new traits previously...... middle of paper ...... introduced into the human diet, this will likely face stiff opposition from consumer groups who oppose the introduction . Certainly in countries like Britain, where the government and beef industry have already suffered a major blow to their credibility in tackling the BSE crisis. Also the way in which the British government seemed to push for the introduction of GMO crops in the 1990s and the subsequent mishandling of the Pusztai affair (Korthals 2002). Therefore genetically modified beef should not be forced on consumers and should only be made available when there is a significant risk of contracting CJD by consuming normal beef. Only then will some consumer groups find genetically modified beef acceptable and others may even demand it. But it is more likely that, in the event of another BSE epidemic, consumers will completely lose faith in the beef industry and turn away from beef..