A group of Chinese researchers has come up with a new breed of swine that they say will both increase production of their nation’s favourite meat and make for healthier dining. Their low-fat pig is the product of genetic engineering, but most Chinese diners won’t care. No GMO stigma, there…
The first litter of Chinese Low-Fat Pigs. GMO, but still the way of the future…
Those brilliant Chinese scientists are at it again! Recently, we reported that a research project there had come up with a new Rice strain that can grow in salt water, promising to feed as many as 2 billion more people a year in that country, and potentially many more around the world.
Every season, Chinese farmers loose a high percentage of their new piglets to cold weather. Conventional hogs are very sensitive to the cold and much of Chines is cold in birthing season. But, now, researchers have engineered a new breed of porker that is both resistant to the cold and less fatty, providing health benefits, as well.
How they did it…
By editing just one gene in common Chinese Pigs, the new hogs have been given the ability to burn fat in cold weather to produce body warmth, something their non-GMO cousins cannot do. They also have up to 24 per cent less body fat, which caters the Chinese taste for less fat and more lean meat.
Have they eaten any of their test subjects, yet? The scientists say, no. But they don’t think the genetic modifications they’ve made will affect the taste of the meat.
Will the new Pork catch on elsewhere?
Most Chinese folks have no pre-conceptions or misgivings about consuming GMO foods. They’ll love more-abundant, cheaper, leaner Pork on their supermarket shelves. But the same cannot be said for the Western world, where junk-science reports and alarmist tales about ‘Frankenfoods’ are still running rampant. And that, in spite of repeated reassurances from scientists and medical authorities that GMO foods are not the least bit harmful.
So… I predict that it will take a long time for Chinese low-fat Pigs to catch on in Europe and North America. But I hope they do!
~ Maggie J.