Sunday, March 26, 2006

Pork: The Other, Um... Seafood?

Don't blame me, I researched with Kodos!
A microscopic worm may be the key to heart-friendly bacon.

Geneticists have mixed DNA from the roundworm C. elegans and pigs to produce swine with significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids -- the kind believed to stave off heart disease.

(snip)

''We all can use more omega-3 in our diet,'' said Dr. Jing Kang, the Harvard Medical School researcher who modified the omega-3-making worm gene so it turned on in the pigs.

(snip)

While boosting Omega-3s doesn't decrease the fat content in pigs, the fatty acids are also important to brain development and may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and depression. The American Heart Association recommends at least two weekly servings of fish, particularly fatty fish like trout and salmon, which are naturally high in omega-3s.

This avenue of research raises many troubling questions, such as:

o Would it create some kind of horrific Baconstein monster?

o If it's healthy in any way, can it truly be considered bacon?

o Will the modified omega-3 pigs live in porquariums instead of pens?


Such questions are above my paygrade; I leave them to the professional bioethicists.

6 comments:

Interrobang said...

Ah, gawd! Jeezuz... I'm never eating bacon again!

At this rate, I'm going to be reduced to breatharianism, strictly from squeamishness alone.

Thers said...

I like bacon.

Eli said...

Ah, gawd! Jeezuz... I'm never eating bacon again!

I think the takeaway here is that you should get in as much bacon-eating as you possibly can before the invasion of the mutant sushi pigs.

Interrobang said...

Yeah, I think you're right, Eli. I like bacon too; that's the problem. If I didn't like bacon, I probably would have shrugged. *grin*

Phila said...

Ya know, maybe I'm crazy, but I think there's something to be said for changing your behavior, instead of the genetics of your food animals.

flory said...

Baconstein?

Jewish bacon?

Does that work?