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Image by Lance Anderson.<\/p>\n
Since its inception over ten years ago, CounterPunch covered<\/a> the attempt to sell and market the genetic modified (GM) AquAdvantage salmon. Most CounterPunch readers will be happy to know that AquaBounty Technologies, the company that produced the \u201cFrankenfish,\u201d has shut down, largely thanks to grocery chain rejection.<\/p>\n But that doesn\u2019t mean new GM animals have disappeared. In fact, they are thriving largely through flying under the public radar.<\/p>\n Like feeding food\/farm animals with hormones, antibiotics and growth promoters to make them gain weight faster, the creation of GM animals is presented as \u201cfeeding\u201d more people. The truth is the genetic \u201cimprovements\u201d usually only benefit industrial farmers as they create more \u201cprofitable\u201d animals that can be grown and processed more quickly.<\/p>\n For example, Giuseppe Ambrosi, European Dairy Association president, told Dairy Global that, \u201cGenome editing<\/a>\u00a0has been found to be a valuable tool for lightening the hair and coat color to better adapt dairy cattle to rapidly changing climatic conditions.\u201d Dark coats absorb more \u201csolar radiation\u201d\u2013\u2013so here\u2019s a solution to climate change!<\/p>\n National Hog Farmer, another industry outlet, wrote that genetic engineering \u201chas the potential to transform how we\u00a0improve livestock with genetics<\/a>\u00a0\u2026 increasing agricultural productivity (more food for more people in our community and elsewhere).\u201d<\/p>\n GMO dairy cattle have been developed to grow without horns by taking DNA from the genome of Red Angus cattle, which suppresses horn growth, and inserting it into the cells of a Holstein bull. Nature may have given the animals horns, but the horns simply present a pesky risk to workers and other animals.<\/p>\n Pigs resistant\u00a0to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome have been genetically engineered and researchers have been trying to\u00a0genetically engineer cows<\/a>\u00a0that are immune to the terminal, prion-caused disease known as \u201cMad Cow\u201d after the worldwide outbreaks in the early 2000s. Mad Cow was often blamed on the practice of making cows cannibals\u2013feeding dead ones to live ones. Prion-free cows could eat anything!<\/p>\n Tampering With Nature For Human Advantage \u2014\u00a0<\/p>\n Objections to GM crops are certainly magnified when it comes to GM animals who know they are alive, unlike plants, a mental state called sentience.<\/p>\n Creating new animals for dedicated human use \u201cis a mechanistic use of animals that seems to perpetuate the notion of their being merely tools for human use rather than sentient creatures,\u201d said the\u00a0Humane Society<\/a>\u00a0of the United States now named Humane World for Animals.<\/p>\n Here is a partial list of GMO\u00a0animals<\/a>\u00a0that have been engineered for profit, key word partial.<\/p>\n * Mice<\/p>\n In the 1980s, mice were engineered with human genes for lab experiments, some guaranteed to get cancer.\u00a0The new life forms were patented.<\/p>\n * Goats<\/p>\n Scientists genetically engineered goats to produce a protein found in spider silk in their milk to make fabric.<\/p>\n * Pigs<\/p>\n In 2020, the\u00a0FDA approved<\/a> the \u201cGalSafe\u201d pig designed for humans with \u201cAlpha-gal syndrome,\u201d an allergy to \u201calpha-gal sugar,\u201d\u00a0\u00a0found on pigs\u2019 cells. Surfacing after a tick bite, the allergic reactions can also occur with beef, pork and lamb so maybe more GM animals are in the pipeline.<\/p>\n * More Pigs<\/p>\n In 2006, researchers began engineering cloned pigs to produce more \u201cgood\u201d omega-3 fatty acids and less \u201cbad\u201d omega-6 fatty acids.<\/p>\n In 2010, researchers created the\u00a0Enviropig<\/a>\u00a0said to\u00a0\u00a0produce less phosphorus in their urine and feces<\/p>\n * Chickens<\/p>\n In 2007, United Kingdom scientists produced\u00a0genetically modified chickens<\/a>\u00a0to lay eggs containing cancer-fighting drugs.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve made one transgenic bird, you can make many enthused Dr. Helen Sang, the lead scientist on the Franken project.<\/p>\n * Other Cow Modifications<\/p>\n In 2011, Chinese scientists introduced human genes into\u00a0dairy cows<\/a>\u00a0to produce milk closer\u00a0to humans\u2019.<\/p>\n