Producing enough food for the ever-increasing world population is foremost in the mind of a researcher working on gene therapy to produce larger, faster growing hogs.

Robert J. Schwartz, molecular and cellular biology professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said his research, which was published in the current issue of Nature Biotechnology, would address the humanitarian issue of world hunger.

“How are you going to feed the expanding world population?” he said.

Although Schwartz, the lead scientist in the swine study, said the research could benefit farmers, consumers and the world of medicine, he cautioned his work was only preliminary research and many safety issues need to be addressed before this can be used.

The pigs in the study were injected with synthetic DNA and subsequently grew 40 percent larger than other pigs, despite the fact the experimental animals were fed 25 percent less food, he said.

The synthetic DNA stimulates glands to produce growth hormones, Schwartz said, which is a much more natural way to increase growth than genetic altering or hormone injection.

“We’re increasing the natural level of the hormones the animal already makes,” he said.

Schwartz said this new technology could have medicinal uses for AIDS patients, children of short stature and astronauts who experience tissue loss while in space.

For now, the research is limited to hogs, and no one is even sure what consumers will think of the product if it ever gets to the store shelf, said Max Rothschild, distinguished professor of animal science.

“This would only be used if the consumer is willing to accept the product and the animals are healthy,” he said.

Rothschild said Europeans already have made it clear they will not purchase beef injected with hormones, but he does not know how Americans will react to the modified pork.

Rothschild said Americans already accept genetically engineered plant products and hormone-injected beef, so he does not foresee a problem with this kind of pork.

He also said many more experiments need to be done to see if the procedure is safe for the animals and consumers.

“They need to look at the long-term effects on the animals,” Rothschild said.

Schwartz said his research does not involve genetic engineering, even though that may be the perception of the public.

“In no way are we changing the genetic makeup of the animals,” he said.

The gene would not pass on to the animal’s offspring and would biodegrade by the time it was slaughtered and prepared, he said.

If the safety is there, Rothschild said this research could lead to increased profits for farmers because of increased feed efficiency and more animals per year.

“Gene therapy may have some practical benefits,” he said.

Rothschild said he is involved in genetic research with pigs but not with altering or inserting anything unnatural.

“We’ve been identifying genes that make pigs grow faster,” he said.

Rothschild said this is used for selective breeding, which is one way pigs are helped to grow faster along with top-notch feed and good environments.