Monday, March 27, 2006

Fishy porker

Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times - Times Online

From the above story:

The piglets have been enhanced with a gene from a nematode worm to give their meat up to five times the normal level of omega 3 fatty acids.

Note the use of the word "enhanced" there.

The pigs — three of which were named Salmon, Tuna and Trout after fish high in omega 3 fats — are the first cloned livestock that can make the beneficial compounds. The success, by a research team in the US, paves the way for a new era of animal breeding, in which animals are genetically engineered to make their meat healthier.

Note the reference to the cute-ish names. I think this journalist is maybe a little too comfortable with the idea of genetically modified animals.

While I suspect it is partly irrational, I am not comfortable about this type of genetic engineering, especially if it is only about making food "healthier" for the overfed West (or East, in the case of pork) rather than doing something really useful like helping make basic food more readily available for struggling countries.

Just eat less of the fat when you have pork, that's all you need to have healthier pork consumption.

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