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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: 2, Interesting) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Monday October 02 2017, @02:09PM (1 child)
The key difference, of course, is that we are able to patch security holes in software, but it's a hell of a lot harder (if not impossible) to do it on brains.
Over the years I have come to view advertising as the science of exploiting these unpatchable vulnerabilities.
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by anubi on Tuesday October 03 2017, @05:59AM
For the human brain, education ( especially sites like this ), studies of critical thinking, and pure old common sense go a long way toward making one more immune to manipulation.
I post this in the hope it does someone else good, as some friends and counselors to me showed me a few things which explained the human nature of the "controlling class", which were quite foreign to me, as a member of the "working class".
Their guidance led me to understand completely new paradigms as to why boss-types were the way they are, and how businesses and religions manipulate people.
Ignorance is sometimes bliss, as people having insight into manipulation by others are often seen as not being a "team player". Ever heard management types refer to "leading" engineers to be analogous to herding cats? By our very makeup and psychological type, we self-select ourselves to go into this line of work.
Knowledge and intelligence seems to lead to insubordination when the giver of orders is evaluated as incompetent. I often will not do things just because someone else does it or tells me to do it. I see other factors, which can override "chains of command". Order-givers simply cannot tolerate this characteristic in subordinates.
I see a lot of advertising almost as psychological warfare; the art of laying guilt trips if someone who has purchasing power to buy something fails to do so. Any parent can cite numerous examples.
Or our need to "be one of the group". Advertiser-backed "trendsetters" define the path for "what's in" and "what's not", forcing us to continuously buy un-necessary stuff just to be accepted by "the in-crowd". Being left out is every bit as painful as the "Christian Ghosting", whose practice makes me extremely leery of organized religion. Advertisers will use that need of us to be accepted into a peer group to their advantage. Just find weak willed ones for use as a "Judas Horse".
You may recognize what someone else is doing, but if you lack the ability to communicate with a person feeling under someone else's authority, its either take the shafting as well, or leave.
Why we so easily subordinate ourselves puzzles me. Even that meme is discussed in the Bible. Start at 1 Samuel around verse 10 or so.
Hopefully, no one will mind if I post this wordy off-topic rant onto this pig topic. SoylentNews in my primary blog site where I leave a lot of rants. I tell my friends or possible business associates that if they want to know more about what makes me tick, come over here and do a search under my username.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]