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PETA Claims That Cambodian Farmers Are Breeding "Double-Muscled" Mutant Pigs

posted by Fnord666 on Monday October 02 2017, @06:47AM   Printer-friendly
from the swine-version-of-the-universe-championships dept.

takyon writes:

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

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  • (Score: 2) by CoolHand on Monday October 02 2017, @11:57PM (7 children)

    by CoolHand (438) on Monday October 02 2017, @11:57PM (#576313) Journal
    1) Thanks for being reasonable.. I was a bit triggered, but your "asshole" comment was a bit over the top and me throwing that back at you probably made me seem even more triggered. 2) A huge amount of the damage being done by plant based big ag would be reduced if we weren't feeding all the grain to animals. I've read estimates from 50-90% of the crops we produce go straight to animals. If we didn't eat animals, all that would be reduced on the plant side (and we could afford to grow a lot of the other plants more sustainably). Why feed all that to animals, then eat animals, when we could just eat a percentage of those plants ourselves directly? So blaming meat really isn't disingenuous. Not eating meat products does the least harm to the environment, period. Anything else is just carnivore justification. On the health side, here is a reputable source for meat and heart disease much newer than Zinho quoted.. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2014/11/researchers-find-new-link-between-red-meat-and-heart-disease-video/ [clevelandclinic.org] 3) We're not individually a natural apex predator, we're just smart. We have out smarted and out-bred all the other species (combined with good teamwork). We were almost surely initially smart scavengers and not predators. Care to get thrown into a cage with a big cat for a few days and see who the apex predator is? 4) The advent of farming has certainly done more to advance modern society than hunting animals did once we were past that primitive stage. Furthermore, just because at one time meat may have helped us gain an advantage in survival situations doesn't mean that is still gives us an advantage today. 5) I didn't want to be vegan, but I truly believe there are no good arguments against it. I also truly think that in the not too distant future killing animals for food will be very rare due to the current methods being unsustainable. If there is any real meat left it will be lab grown (possibly with the cholesterol engineered out), or possibly contained to the pleasures of the ultra-rich. Plant based meat and/or lab meat will be cheaper, more sustainable and more ethical so it is going to be almost impossible to stop. There has been a lot of advanced in the past year with more and more money going into it. 6) Peta is highly controversial even amongst vegans, I can't hardly blame you for disagreeing with them, especially coming at things from an omni perspective. I've never given money to PETA, although I have to Vegan Outreach.
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  • (Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Tuesday October 03 2017, @06:19PM (6 children)

    by NotSanguine (285) <{NotSanguine} {at} {SoylentNews.Org}> on Tuesday October 03 2017, @06:19PM (#576711) Homepage Journal

    Care to get thrown into a cage with a big cat for a few days and see who the apex predator is?

    Who built the cage? Not the cat.

    We're not individually a natural apex predator, we're just smart. We have out smarted and out-bred all the other species (combined with good teamwork).

    Ahh, but we are. It's irrelevant *how* we became that way, but we became the apex predator because we had an evolutionary advantage (in this case, intelligence and the ability to communicate and cooperate with each other).

    Nature doesn't care what those advantages might be, only results matter. And the proof is, as they say, in the pudding.

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    • (Score: 2) by CoolHand on Tuesday October 03 2017, @10:52PM (5 children)

      by CoolHand (438) on Tuesday October 03 2017, @10:52PM (#576829) Journal
      The wikipedia page [wikipedia.org] on Apex Predator has an initial definition saying it's a species upon which no other species preys.. So humans would be left out there.. It then has a section on humans later in the article basically saying there's been a lot of dispute on whether humans are apex predators (and cites a lot of sources). So, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. In my mind, evolutionary advantages leading to domination is not the same thing..
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      • (Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Wednesday October 04 2017, @03:59AM (1 child)

        by NotSanguine (285) <{NotSanguine} {at} {SoylentNews.Org}> on Wednesday October 04 2017, @03:59AM (#576914) Homepage Journal

        From the page you linked:

        An apex predator, also known as an alpha predator or apical predator, is a predator residing at the top of a food chain upon which no other creatures prey.

        I'd say we were at the top of a food chain, wouldn't you? Who exactly is it that hunts humans for food except for some *human* groups that practice cannibalism?

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        • (Score: 2) by CoolHand on Wednesday October 04 2017, @11:45AM

          by CoolHand (438) on Wednesday October 04 2017, @11:45AM (#576976) Journal

          From the page you linked:

          An apex predator, also known as an alpha predator or apical predator, is a predator residing at the top of a food chain upon which no other creatures prey.

          I'd say we were at the top of a food chain, wouldn't you? Who exactly is it that hunts humans for food except for some *human* groups that practice cannibalism?

          I think if you put yourself out in the true wild (what's left of it), you'll find the answer. Especially alone at night, that primordial fear will come to you with every little noise..

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-eater [wikipedia.org]

          Although human beings can be attacked by many kinds of animals, man-eaters are those that have incorporated human flesh into their usual diet and actively hunt and kill humans. Most reported cases of man-eaters have involved lions, tigers, leopards,[1][2] and crocodilians. However, they are by no means the only predators that will attack humans if given the chance; a wide variety of species have also been known to adopt humans as usual prey, including bears, Komodo dragons, and hyenas.

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      • (Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Wednesday October 04 2017, @04:04AM (2 children)

        by NotSanguine (285) <{NotSanguine} {at} {SoylentNews.Org}> on Wednesday October 04 2017, @04:04AM (#576916) Homepage Journal

        So, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

        My apologies. I meant to include the following in my previous reply, but got antsy with the submit button:

        Sure. We can agree to disagree. I have no axe to grind with you. What's more, I respect your opinion and appreciate the opportunity to discuss this topic with you, regardless of any difference of opinion.

        --
        No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr

        • (Score: 2) by CoolHand on Wednesday October 04 2017, @11:49AM (1 child)

          by CoolHand (438) on Wednesday October 04 2017, @11:49AM (#576978) Journal
          Thanks man.. If you're interested in debating these topics with people that do it better than me, stop by /r/debateavegan... :D
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          • (Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Wednesday October 04 2017, @12:56PM

            by NotSanguine (285) <{NotSanguine} {at} {SoylentNews.Org}> on Wednesday October 04 2017, @12:56PM (#576994) Homepage Journal

            Thanks man.. If you're interested in debating these topics with people that do it better than me, stop by /r/debateavegan... :D

            I appreciate the pointer, but no time for that. There's steak to be eaten!

            --
            No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr