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Ready for the transgenic cow?

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital are contemplating inserting a worm gene into our livestock. The reason for the genetic manipulation is that earlier studies determined that inserting a particular worm gene, "Fat-1," into lab mice, the animals' tissues had more omega-3 fatty acids. According to the scientists, the "obvious follow-up" would be transferring the gene to dairy cows, chickens, cattle, and pigs so the animals would produce meat, eggs, and dairy products high in Omega-3s.

Regular visitors to this site know that raising livestock on grass, which is rich in omega-3s, accomplishes the same goal. What's more, following nature's model offers a multitude of other health and environmental benefits as well.

"Transgenic mice: Fat-1 mice convert n-6 to n-3 fatty acids" JING X. KANG*, JINGDONG WANG*, LIN WU† & ZHAO B. KANG, Nature 427: 504 - February 5, 2004

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