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Leave it to the Chinese...
China gets human milk from cows
10/06/2011 8:30:00 AM
by Nevil Hunt
Genetically modified cows in China are producing human breast milk. No bull. The Chinese hope to start selling the new milk within three years. Will you grab a straw?
Chinese scientists have managed to get cows to produce human milk, and may have the new brew in China's grocery stores in three years.
A herd of 300 cows has been genetically modified (GM), and once the government is sure it's safe, more cows will be bred with the ability to produce human milk.
The Chinese are on a slippery slope, riding herd with the ethical brakes shut off.
A Chinese scientist quoted in news reports suggests the new cow-human milk will help feed hungry people, calling the modification of the cows "our duty," but it's not clear how a GM cow will create more milk than a standard cow. If both produce a litre of milk for human consumption, what makes a GM cow better?
The developers in Beijing claim the new GM milk has the same immune-boosting and antibacterial qualities as breast milk. I'd like to see an independent test please. After all, this is a country where suppliers watered down milk and then added melamine to pass "quality control" tests, resulting in illness and death.
An unhealthy history calls for healthy skepticism.
If the GM milk can feed the hungry better than standard cows' milk, what will the scientists really have accomplished? Taken to its logical conclusion, the developers are saying that if nature can't keep people alive, we alter nature.
What if mankind is able to alter nature so that we can feed 60 billion people and keep them alive? Would we be happy standing cheek by jowl on every scrap of land on the planet? It doesn't sound like an improvement.
Science has made advances that have improved agriculture, generally through gentle adaptation. Farmers use the seeds from the best plants for the next planting season, making future crop generations stronger.
When scientists spliced together peaches and plums, they developed the nectarine. Big industry has developed grains more resistant to insects or extremes of weather.
So where to draw the line when it comes to tinkering with Mother Nature?
A clear boundary exists when it comes to living, breathing things like mammals.
When mankind develops a new animal, we risk both genetic contributors.
What if it turns out the new cows ingest a bacteria or disease and alter its basic design, thereby creating a new problem for science? Unlikely as it may be, we're dealing with many unknowns. Raise your hand – or a hoof – if GM mammals sound like a bad idea.
Some people won't drink regular cows' milk as a matter of conscience; cows produce the milk for their young and people redirect it to the human food supply chain. The milk-free among us are starting to look saner by the minute.
And the possibility of human genes being part of our food chain will put more people off their lunch.
Can the possible benefits of human-cow milk be worth the risks? Would you buy the new milk of it was in your local grocery store?
China gets human milk from cows
10/06/2011 8:30:00 AM
by Nevil Hunt
Genetically modified cows in China are producing human breast milk. No bull. The Chinese hope to start selling the new milk within three years. Will you grab a straw?
Chinese scientists have managed to get cows to produce human milk, and may have the new brew in China's grocery stores in three years.
A herd of 300 cows has been genetically modified (GM), and once the government is sure it's safe, more cows will be bred with the ability to produce human milk.
The Chinese are on a slippery slope, riding herd with the ethical brakes shut off.
A Chinese scientist quoted in news reports suggests the new cow-human milk will help feed hungry people, calling the modification of the cows "our duty," but it's not clear how a GM cow will create more milk than a standard cow. If both produce a litre of milk for human consumption, what makes a GM cow better?
The developers in Beijing claim the new GM milk has the same immune-boosting and antibacterial qualities as breast milk. I'd like to see an independent test please. After all, this is a country where suppliers watered down milk and then added melamine to pass "quality control" tests, resulting in illness and death.
An unhealthy history calls for healthy skepticism.
If the GM milk can feed the hungry better than standard cows' milk, what will the scientists really have accomplished? Taken to its logical conclusion, the developers are saying that if nature can't keep people alive, we alter nature.
What if mankind is able to alter nature so that we can feed 60 billion people and keep them alive? Would we be happy standing cheek by jowl on every scrap of land on the planet? It doesn't sound like an improvement.
Science has made advances that have improved agriculture, generally through gentle adaptation. Farmers use the seeds from the best plants for the next planting season, making future crop generations stronger.
When scientists spliced together peaches and plums, they developed the nectarine. Big industry has developed grains more resistant to insects or extremes of weather.
So where to draw the line when it comes to tinkering with Mother Nature?
A clear boundary exists when it comes to living, breathing things like mammals.
When mankind develops a new animal, we risk both genetic contributors.
What if it turns out the new cows ingest a bacteria or disease and alter its basic design, thereby creating a new problem for science? Unlikely as it may be, we're dealing with many unknowns. Raise your hand – or a hoof – if GM mammals sound like a bad idea.
Some people won't drink regular cows' milk as a matter of conscience; cows produce the milk for their young and people redirect it to the human food supply chain. The milk-free among us are starting to look saner by the minute.
And the possibility of human genes being part of our food chain will put more people off their lunch.
Can the possible benefits of human-cow milk be worth the risks? Would you buy the new milk of it was in your local grocery store?
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