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from the swine-version-of-the-universe-championships dept.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals claims that Cambodian farmers are breeding "double-muscled" pigs. "Double-muscled" refers to a mutation in the myostatin gene (MSTN) which normally keeps muscle growth in check. Disruption of MSTN can lead to the abnormal proliferation of muscle cells in an organism:
Mutant pigs bred to grow to an enormous size just to be slaughtered and eaten? No, we aren't talking about the plot of the eye-opening Netflix sensation Okja—rather, this is the very real horror that seems to be unfolding on a Cambodian farm, where genetically altered pigs are being bred to develop heaping knots of muscle mass. Disturbing video footage and images captured on the farm have exploded around the web, sparking discussions about the many ways that animals suffer and are abused when they're treated as nothing more than "food."
[...] When South Korean and Chinese scientists created 32 double-muscled piglets in 2015, according to reports, only one was considered even marginally healthy. But pigs suffer even without this "Frankenscience"—on typical pig farms, their tails are cut off, their sensitive teeth are ground down, and the males are castrated, all without so much as an aspirin. Then, even though we have a wealth of nutritious plant-based foods to eat, these intelligent, playful, sociable animals' throats are slit and their bodies are turned into pork chops or sausages.
Breeders have exploited natural double-muscling, which occurs in Belgian Blue cattle, to create behemoth animals who suffer from a slew of health problems—just to yield slightly larger profits.
[Note: On Google News, only corroborating sources seem to be British tabloids right now]
Previously: "Double-Muscled" Pigs Created Using Simple Gene Modification
Scientists Create Extra-Muscular Beagles
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Monday October 02 2017, @08:45AM (3 children)
Agreed. All over the civilized(?) world hogs are bred for no other purpose, but to be butchered and cut up into pork chops, bacon, rendered into lard, the real waste products put into dog food - this IS how we live. PETA routinely gets their panties wadded up over stupid crap. Hogs, chickens, cows, sheep, goats, and more - they are FOOD!
On the other hand, I'm not much into genetic engineering of my food. Nor do I like all the hormones, antibiotics, and other crap force fed to our food animals.
I think there's some line between PETA's positions, and that of industrial farming, that makes sense. Big Agriculture will sicken you, if you get behind the scenes to see how things are really done. But, I certainly don't want PETA to be the standard bearer in this crusade.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Monday October 02 2017, @10:46AM (2 children)
That's why it's safer to keep your own animals, if you can. Corporations are not to be trusted with important matters.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by requerdanos on Monday October 02 2017, @03:17PM (1 child)
Unless you're cloning them, your own animals are still going to be bred if there are to be any offspring, which is the basis for the evil, monstrous genetic manipulations being decried. I don't think the people who (claim to) oppose such manipulation quite grasp that aspect of it.
CRISPR is another way to do it, but the "Breeding" way is (a) easier, and (b) much more popular.
So you're either a wicked genetic manipulator or a mad-scientist cloner if you believe genetic change to be dark or satanic manipulation to be avoided.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday October 02 2017, @04:34PM
Uh, OK. I meant that if you're eating animals you raise then you know exactly what shots have been given them and what they've eaten. Everything else you're taking on faith, and it has happened entirely too often that companies betray that faith. Even the guys who certified the meat kosher for most of the US were caught doing all kinds of heinous things; previously my orthodox friend had always clicked his tongue and told me to buy their stuff every time a food contamination story came out.
Washington DC delenda est.