The measure, filed by Republican legislators in the state House and Senate, defines mRNA vaccine or vaccine material as a substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against disease by introducing messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) that corresponds to a viral protein.
State Rep. Susan Lynn, the legislation’s Republican sponsor in the House, said the COVID-19 vaccine “raised enough questions” that food producers shouldn’t indiscriminately use it on animals.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea until we know more,” she said in an interview with The Epoch Times. “The slower you go, the better it is sometimes to make sure no mistakes are made impacting human lives or stocks of animals.”
Lynn said the bill’s primary sponsor, state Sen. Frank Niceley, asked her to sign on because of her previous work on bills related to health and animals. Niceley didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
If the measure is enacted, Lynn said farmers can designate that the animals have been raised in Tennessee and also bear an insignia stating that no mRNA vaccine was used on the animal.
“There really is a market for this,” she said. “I’ve talked to farmers who say their customers want their meat not to have as few antibiotics and vaccines as possible, as well as things like being grass-fed.”
Lynn noted that such a law could be beneficial to farmers because it helps small farms with their breeding operations by standing out and also for the public because it gives them the particular product they’re looking for.
“If you want an animal that’s been bred in Tennessee or one that’s not had an mRNA vaccine, you’ll have the assurance of knowing it’s local and nonvaccinated,” she said.
Lynn said the next step for the bill is the agriculture committee for debate.
State Department of Agriculture
No vaccines are used in food products in Tennessee, Kim Doddridge, public information officer for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA), said in an email to The Epoch Times.However, she said some livestock ultimately slaughtered for food may have been vaccinated against disease at some point; all meat products sold commercially for human consumption must pass U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection first.
“Vaccines are not present in animal carcasses,” Doddridge said. “Milk from animals is also tested to ensure it is antibiotic free.”
She noted that the department doesn’t track animal vaccine ingredients, so she was unable to answer whether any mRNA vaccines are currently used in animals in Tennessee. She said the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service approves vaccines for animals.
mRNA Studies on Animals
Messenger RNA vaccines hold great promise for animals in the prevention of infectious diseases, according to the National Library of Medicine’s National Center for Biotechnology Information.“In past years, several mRNA vaccines have entered clinical trials and have shown promise for offering solutions to combat emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases such as rabies, Zika, and influenza,” a research paper reads. “Recently, the successful application of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 has further validated the platform and opened the floodgates to mRNA vaccine’s potential in infectious disease prevention, especially in the veterinary field.”
