Better Bacon? Swine + Worms = Healthier Pork
By
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)-A microscopic worm may be the
key to heart-friendly bacon in the future. 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.
It is not known, however, if omega-3 fatty acids
in pork will have the same effect on humans as
it seems to when coming from fish. And the supposed
"good" bacon is years away from hitting
the supermarket.
Nonetheless, researchers hope they can improve
the technique in pork and do the same in chickens
and cows. In the process, they also want to better
understand human disease.
"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.
Kang is one of 17 authors of the paper appearing
Sunday in an online edition of the journal Nature
Biotechnology.
The cloned, genetically engineered pigs are the
latest advance in the agricultural biotechnology
field, which is struggling to move beyond esoteric
products such as bug-repelling corn and soy resistant
to weed killers.
Hoping to create healthier, cheaper and tastier
products that consumers crave, Monsanto Co. of
St. Louis and its biotech farming competitors
like DuPont are developing omega-3-producing crops
that yield healthier cooking oils. Kang said 30
academic laboratories are now working with his
omega-3 gene, presumably pursuing similar projects.
"Consumers have responded pretty positively
when asked their opinion of food modified to improve
food quality and food safety, just as long as
the taste isn't altered negatively,'' said Christine
Bruhn, director of the Center for Consumer Research
at the University of California, Davis.
Earlier experiments have succeeded in manipulating
animals' fat content but most never made it out
of the lab because of taste problems.
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.
People already eat genetically engineered soy
beans in all manner of processed food, but biotech
companies run into what bioethicists call the
"yuck factor'' when they begin tinkering
with animals.
The Food and Drug Administration has never approved
food derived from genetically engineered animals.
Unlike crops, the FDA treats such animals as medicine
and requires extensive testing before approval.
"We understand that this research is in the
very early stages,'' FDA spokeswoman Rae Jones
said. "This technology will not likely reach
meat counters for many years.''
The FDA is still considering Waltham, Mass.-based
Aqua Bounty Technologies' application to market
a salmon genetically engineered to grow faster,
the only such request pending with the agency.
Aqua Bounty began its federal application process
about nine years ago and there is no indication
when the FDA will rule.
In the meantime, the researchers of the latest
project said they will use their genetically engineered
pigs to study human disease, especially heart
conditions.
LiveScience Staff contributed to this report.
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