Juicier Steaks Soon? The UK Approves Testing of Gene-Edited Cow Feed (telegraph.co.uk) 24
"Juicier steaks could soon be served up after barley was given the go-ahead to become Britain's first gene-edited crop," reports the Telegraph:
In an effort to fatten up cows and get them to market faster, scientists have altered the DNA of Golden Promise barley to increase its fat content... [Regulators have approved the feeding of that barley to cows for further studies.] [T]he small increase reduces the time it takes for farmers to raise animals for slaughter and increases the amount of milk and meat they produce to make the industry more profitable.
The gene-edited barley is also able to cut the amount of methane a cow produces, [Rothamsted Research professor/biochemist Peter] Eastmond said... Reducing methane from cattle is a major goal of the industry, and Professor Eastmond estimated his barley could cut the methane output from a single cow by up to 15%.
The two genetic tweaks to the barley are believed to alter the gut bacteria in cows' stomachs and reduce the amount of methane-generating microbes, cutting the cows' emissions.... [Eastmond] is also working on applying the same two gene edits to rye grass to create pastures and meadows which are lipid-rich and calorie-dense. This, he said, could lead to entire fields of gene-edited grass which could be grazed by cows, sheep, horses and goats to fatten them up and cut emissions... "It would be better to have this technology in a pasture grass that's grown to supply the livestock and graze it directly."
The barley "has been modified to have a single letter of DNA removed from two different genes to switch them off," the article points out. "No genes have been added to its DNA and it is not considered to be genetically modified."
The article points out that Britain "has launched a push towards more gene-edited crops as a key post-Brexit freedom since splitting from the European Union," noting that U.K. scientists and private companies "have created products such as bread with fewer cancer-causing chemicals, longer-lasting strawberries and bananas, sweeter-tasting lettuce and disease-resistant potatoes, although these are yet to be granted permission to land on supermarket shelves..."
But the EU has so far resisted the sale of any gene-edited crops in the EU.
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader fjo3 for sharing the article.
The gene-edited barley is also able to cut the amount of methane a cow produces, [Rothamsted Research professor/biochemist Peter] Eastmond said... Reducing methane from cattle is a major goal of the industry, and Professor Eastmond estimated his barley could cut the methane output from a single cow by up to 15%.
The two genetic tweaks to the barley are believed to alter the gut bacteria in cows' stomachs and reduce the amount of methane-generating microbes, cutting the cows' emissions.... [Eastmond] is also working on applying the same two gene edits to rye grass to create pastures and meadows which are lipid-rich and calorie-dense. This, he said, could lead to entire fields of gene-edited grass which could be grazed by cows, sheep, horses and goats to fatten them up and cut emissions... "It would be better to have this technology in a pasture grass that's grown to supply the livestock and graze it directly."
The barley "has been modified to have a single letter of DNA removed from two different genes to switch them off," the article points out. "No genes have been added to its DNA and it is not considered to be genetically modified."
The article points out that Britain "has launched a push towards more gene-edited crops as a key post-Brexit freedom since splitting from the European Union," noting that U.K. scientists and private companies "have created products such as bread with fewer cancer-causing chemicals, longer-lasting strawberries and bananas, sweeter-tasting lettuce and disease-resistant potatoes, although these are yet to be granted permission to land on supermarket shelves..."
But the EU has so far resisted the sale of any gene-edited crops in the EU.
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader fjo3 for sharing the article.
In est in lab meat (Score:3)
...and we will need less things involving managing their lives and transporting them.
It's not going to make money for years but it is in the public interest. Exactly the sort of project a government should back.
Re: In est in lab meat (Score:4, Funny)
Re: In est in lab meat (Score:3)
we won't need to flatten cows just to eat them
Lab grown meat is initially formed in thin sheets, right? So isnâ(TM)t flattening cows exactly what weâ(TM)d be doing?
Re: Yes zero emission cows is the way to go (Score:2)
Zero emission cars are an accounting trick.
Just like carbon neutral flying. Where I live the local government sells credits for the forests they were already going to have. Companies claim full offset, but it really isnâ(TM)t.
It would be great if more farmers fed their cows diets that produce less methane. That would be a net benefit
Re: (Score:2)
Exactly the sort of project a government should back.
Agree totally, the state can focus research on the foundations of long term important technology and reap the payback over the future from the economic productivity generated from the nations leadership in the industry. This can ensure no single company owns foundational patents, allowing a competitive industry to come up and one you can grow in your own nation since you, the public, all of us are at the core of it.
For some reason a lot of people fight this idea but at the same thing acknowledge the realit
Re: (Score:2)
It'll never replace flattening cows. Lab grown meat may substitute some meat for meat's sake needs, but the reality is a wide array of different meats from different cows fed different things in different countries are eaten for their myriad of flavours and textures they generate.
There's a big difference between all cow breeds, not just wagyu vs non-wagyu. There's difference in taste between a working cow and a non working cow. There's differences between grass and grain fed. There's people who like the tas
Re: (Score:2)
In the end the lab can't replace all these.
In the end, of course it can. It only can't in the interim. Why would you not eventually be able to substitute for all of those other factors, and create whatever gives the same flavors and textures in the lab?
Re: (Score:2)
No, what we need is to stop being assholes. The moment hedonism is a valid excuse for animal agriculture, no matter how close you can get will never be enough. Animal agriculture is symptomatic of the fact that we are at a standstill or even regression of moral progress, though other symptoms are a little more obvious at the moment.
Of course humans won't stop being assholes, I'm not volunteering, but maybe AI will nanny us instead of just choosing plain eradication.
Oh Noze! (Score:1)
Golden Promise is my favorite barely for beer making! (Home Alone face slap emoji here).
Re: Oh Noze! (Score:2)
I was just thinking "So this is going to make my Scottish ale fattier? How's that going to work?"
Re: (Score:2)
Re: But what about the suffering? (Score:2)
Why, does biting makes dick taste better?
All the right reasons (Score:3)
Ah, yes, because nothing screams “bold post-Brexit innovation” like gene-editing barley so cows can burp less methane while we get juicier steaks faster. Bravo, UK! You’ve finally hopped on the GMO train—not for the boring old reasons like, y’know, feeding starving people or actually solving real agricultural problems—but because an island that contributes roughly 1% of global emissions (look it up, it’s adorable) is dead-set on slashing its own cow farts by a whopping 15%. That’s right, folks: the planet’s fate hangs in the balance of British livestock flatulence, and this single-letter DNA tweak is apparently the heroic fix.
Even Bill Nye—the guy who used to side-eye GMOs like they were radioactive—eventually came around and endorsed them specifically as a tool against world hunger. But nah, why bother with anything as pedestrian as ending famine when you can virtue-signal about climate while the actual heavy emitters (China, India, the US) keep right on trucking? Genius. This isn’t science; it’s eco-therapy for a nation convinced their pasture tweaks will cool the globe.
And the best part? It’s not even “GMO” in the scary EU sense—no foreign genes added, just two switches flipped off. Yet here we are, celebrating it because it makes the meat industry slightly more profitable and the cows slightly less gassy. Truly, the future is moo-ving in the right direction straight into irrelevance. Well played, Britain. Well played.
Re: All the right reasons (Score:2)
The article points out that Britain "has launched a push towards more gene-edited crops as a key post-Brexit freedom since splitting from the European Union," noting that U.K. scientists and private companies "have created products such as bread with fewer cancer-causing chemicals, longer-lasting strawberries and bananas, sweeter-tasting lettuce and disease-resistant potatoes, although these are yet to be granted permission to land on supermarket shelves..."
And this poster points out that the Torygraph has been printing anti-EU propaganda and outright fabrications for decades. The science reporting might be sound but the editor can't resist trying to make a dig against Europe even if the complaint is complete bollocks. The DT for a long time pushed the outright lie about the UK getting faster access to new covid vaccines, promulgated by that mendacious cunt Boris Johnson, when the truth is that it was EMA regulations that allowed for rapid rollout of new vacci
Re: (Score:3)
Brexitland will have to add a genetic certificate additional to the veterinary certificate for EVERYBODY wanting to export beef to the EU.
So much for their famous 'reset'.
Re: (Score:2)
or actually solving real agricultural problems
Methane emissions from rearing cattle are a very real agricultural problem despite your denial. It's not just burps, but fats and emissions from cow pies that are all impacted by the diet. Estimates put cattle at 11-17% of green house gas emissions.
Cows produce roughly 100kg of methane a year, which is the equivalent warming of 2TCOe. This is also the equivalent to the average family car emission per year in the UK. This is not a small amount, the UK has over 9 million head of cattle.
But nah, why bother with anything as pedestrian as ending famine
Hey how about you solve
Re: (Score:2)
I used to work with someone who was a vegetarian, mainly because he was Type 21 diabetic. He ate continuously throughout the day and passed a significant amount of wind doing it.
So my question is, has anyone worked out the methane emissions of the ~9 billion humans on the planet? I bet that the number would be far greater than that of all the farm animals put together.
Bad idea (Score:2)
I'm sure a lot of the farmers think it's a great idea - but we've been down this road before, at least in the US. It starts out with noble intentions...
1) "We need to help the poor dairy farmers make more money! What if each cow could produce more milk?" (1960s, 1970s)
2) Develop rBST, and synthetic version of BST [wikipedia.org] which can increase milk yields (1970s)
3) Almost all the dairy farmers start using it (1980s)
4) Milk prices crash due to a glut of milk on the market (1980s)
5) US government spends many billions of
Go full synthetic. (Score:2)
Why do we need to eat plants and animals? I don't wanna eat plants, like I am looking a petunia right now as I type this. I don't wanna eat you petunia. Same thing with the cat. Though for 100% certain the cat would eat me if given the chance. In fact he's tried to on a number of occasions.
Anyway, my point is what we need to survive is proteins, carbs, and fats. I feel like there's a fourth thing there but I forgot. Anyhow, we can synthesize all of that. We can synthesize proteins (amino acids) it's pretty
Re: (Score:2)
> what we need to survive is proteins, carbs, and fats. I feel like there's a fourth thing there but I forgot.
Me too, so I looked it up:
There's six with vitamins, minerals and water. And dietary fibre too, but it's not an essential nutrient.
The cow farts make it better....lol (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Who started the cow fart issue anyway ??? Fake meat companies ?
Vegans.