[Nettime-bold] this little piggy went to market...

[Ryan Griffis <grifray@yahoo.com>]

In the latest public health scandal to rock the
agricultural biotech
industry, 386 pigs from a University of Illinois
genetic engineering
experiment were reported last week to have been sold
to a livestock
dealer for slaughter. The pigs' parents had two genes
inserted into
their DNA, ostensibly to increase growth rates and
milk production: a
lactation gene from a cow and an insulin-like growth
factor gene
(IGF-1), which is widely found in mammals.

The last time IGF-1 made the news was in 1994, shortly
after
genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH)
became the first
biotech product to dramatically affect our food
supply. IGF-1 is the
protein hormone triggered by rBGH, which forces
injected cows to
produce 10-20 percent more milk. Elevated levels of
IGF-1 were
associated with breast and prostate cancers in humans,
and with the
weakening of cellular processes that have evolved to
impede the
growth of cancer cells.

In the Illinois case, the genetically engineered pigs
and their
offspring were supposed to be incinerated or sold to
rendering plants
for processing into animal feed. But when university
officials told
the FDA that at least one transgenic pig had been sent
for rendering,
the agency's inspectors discovered that the offspring
were routinely
being sold for slaughter.

Researchers claim that the offspring had not inherited
the inserted
genes from their parents, and that they were disposed
of at too early
an age to express the two transgenes, which are mainly
found in
active mammary glands. However, no data has been
released to clarify
whether the offspring express any other unusual
genetic traits
stemming from their parents' having been genetically
manipulated.

This is at least the third incident of material
originating from
genetically engineered animals finding its way into
food supplies for
humans or animals. Last year, pigs that had been
engineered by
Canadian scientists to produce less phosphorus in
their manure were
found to have been sent to a rendering plant, and in
2001, three
transgenic pigs from the University of Florida were
reportedly stolen
by a technician and offered to a local butcher. A 2002
National
Academy of Sciences report warned that GE animals
could pose
environmental and food safety risks that the
government is not
adequately equipped to evaluate. Scientists are also
evaluating
reports from Iowa farms last summer suggesting that
even ordinary
pigs that are fed GE corn are prone to serious
reproductive
disorders, including very high rates of false
pregnancies.


----------------------------
| for more information     |
----------------------------

University of Iowa Pigs
http://www.nerage.org/stories.php?story=03/02/08/2024080

Genetic Engineering Experiment
http://www.nerage.org/stories.php?story=03/02/08/1058799

Information On Insulin
http://www.neRAGE.org/stories.php?story=02/09/06/7584114

Canadian Pig Problems
http://www.nerage.org/stories.php?story=02/02/21/6084384

Pig Reproduction Problems
http://www.nerage.org/stories.php?story=02/07/01/5273379


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