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Should we play God with animals’ DNA?

Sat Sep 12 08:03PM

A US philosopher sparked a debate this week by calling for the genetic modification of animals' DNA so they don't feel pain when they are being slaughtered.

Adam Shriver of Washington University in St Louis says there is a moral case for altering the DNA make-up of cows, chickens and other animals bred for their meat.

He argues that: "If we can't do away with factory farming, we should at least take steps to minimise the amount of suffering that is caused. I'm offering a solution where you could still eat meat but avoid animal suffering."

Researchers have already performed similar tests on mice noting that if they are lacking a certain gene they are less sensitive to heat and pressure.

Future advances could allow scientists to switch off the pain receptors of animals set for slaughter but it raises certain moral issues. Should we be playing God with animals' DNA?

It doesn't seem right to me.

Having spoken to a few vegetarian friends of mine I don't see many of them deciding to eat meat again based on the fact that the animals didn't know they were being hurt.

Even if animals couldn't feel physical pain, that wouldn't alleviate the emotional and psychological pain they endure of being cooped up in dark, overcrowded conditions for days, weeks, months, years leading up to their innevitable deaths. And if anything, relieving animals of physical pain will encourage slaughterhouses to treat them even worse.

Changing animals' DNA is a clever solution to the problem of slaughterhouse cruelty but it's still a lazy one in my book. The problem needs to be tackled head on. If we can do something so amazing as to readjust a living organism's DNA to alter their pain barriers, why can't government's here and abroad do the comparably simple task of pushing through legislation ensuring the animals are treated better?

Comments1 - 10 of 416

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ive got a feeling that one day i might be vegetarian

From emmalouiselee13 on Sat Sep 12 08:20PM
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I wonder philosophers don't think much about the pain humans suffer these days...good luck to animals!

From amigo_english on Sat Sep 12 08:26PM
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?

From amigo_english on Sat Sep 12 08:26PM
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While people eat meat we will always have slaughterhouses. If science can make this pain-free then they will have done more to prevent animal cruelty than any animal rights group has ever achieved.

From fdlowe on Sat Sep 12 08:28PM
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no - as a committed vegetarian, we should respect our animal peers and not interfere with the natural living of their lives - if we wish to mess about with something as important to each human (and animal) as their DNA, we, as humans, should stick to our own breed for this research. There is no telling what horrors might await us in a future world if cross-human/animal DNA research is allowed to continue unabated.

From rich.recycleft on Sat Sep 12 08:41PM
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You're still killing the animal. All the removal of pain would do is make humans feel better about the whole situation: not very fair. I think it's quite a disgusting idea, going to the lengths of modifying someone's DNA so you can feel better about murdering them.

From mygodno on Sat Sep 12 08:59PM
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I would be even more commited to NOT eating meat, enough rubbish is pumped into animals now which must pass to us.

From lindapownall on Sat Sep 12 09:00PM
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Animals know when they are going to slaugter house and they don't want to diec but the bible told us in Gen 1;28,take subjection over the fly creatures and the moving ones in the earth.
but today it is sad how animals been electrocuted and the owner of life Jehovah want to the blood to return back to the ground and to him.Sad to say that peole use it for sports and eat the blood too as Black pudding(,Disgusting) the bible say we should abstain from blood and animal sacrifice Acts15;29.well, my bible really teach that no scientists can creat any humanbeing or animal that breath except Jehovah God, if Jehovah can separate identical twins, their DNA and eye balls are different, we must give him all the credit Rev 4:11.man cannotdirect their footsteps but meat is good for our body and a real vegetarian don't eat meat or egg but fish and vegetable.please for more information check your and read your bible daily and see about how Jehovah view the animals and human being

From princessharcourtbrown on Sat Sep 12 09:01PM
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Animals know when they are going to slaugter house and they don't want to diec but the bible told us in Gen 1;28,take subjection over the fly creatures and the moving ones in the earth.
but today it is sad how animals been electrocuted and the owner of life Jehovah want to the blood to return back to the ground and to him.Sad to say that peole use it for sports and eat the blood too as Black pudding(,Disgusting) the bible say we should abstain from blood and animal sacrifice Acts15;29.well, my bible really teach that no scientists can creat any humanbeing or animal that breath except Jehovah God, if Jehovah can separate identical twins, their DNA and eye balls are different, we must give him all the credit Rev 4:11.man cannotdirect their footsteps but meat is good for our body and a real vegetarian don't eat meat or egg but fish and vegetable.please for more information check your and read your bible daily and see about how Jehovah view the animals and human being

From princessharcourtbrown on Sat Sep 12 09:02PM
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How will we feel when the Government fixes our DNA instead of treating us better to make us less upset? When we do it to animals, it's to suit us, not them. Engineering animals for convenience is pretending they are machines made by us. This issue shows everyone that they do believe in God. The world's scientists couldn't have designed our evolving organisms. Darwin didn't devise the elegant process of evolution. When some scientists pervert the wonders of creation, it is an obscene betrayal. We know it instinctively.

From johnmurphy1959 on Sat Sep 12 09:06PM
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