Article: "Cows 'should be genetically engineered not to feel pain'"
...because THAT would be the most humane option. wtf?
http://refreshingnews9.blogspot.com/2009/09/cows-should-be-genetically-engineered.html
Cows 'should be genetically engineered not to feel pain'
Animals could be genetically engineered not to feel pain, allowing people to enjoy hamburgers and steaks without feeling guilty, a philosopher has suggested.
Adam Shriver of Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, has argued that there is a moral case for altering the DNA make-up of cows, chickens and other animals bred for their meat.
"If we can't do away with factory farming, we should at least take steps to minimise the amount of suffering that is caused," he wrote in a paper published in the Neuroethics journal
"I'm offering a solution where you could still eat meat but avoid animal suffering."
Researchers have already established that mice lacking a particular gene are less sensitive to heat and pressure.
Future advances could allow scientists to switch off the pain receptors of farm animals, making their lives - and deaths - more humane.
But critics claim that removing an animal's susceptibility to pain could be unethical, because it would make them more likely to expose themselves to physical danger.
The cruelty endured by factory farm animals was highlighted in a recent video secretly filmed inside a hatchery in Iowa in the US, showing unwanted chicks being tossed alive into a grinder.
What the heck is wrong with people? You're still killing and eating a cow! (I apologize if this has already been posted.)