27 March 2006

Something's fishy 'bout these pigs.

Chicago.

Damn. Just noticed this article on genetically-modified pigs producing Omega-3 fatty acids. Setting aside the concerns regarding GMO1 food, it's dangerous to have this sort of sound-bite information out there. The most alarming quote in the whole article:
"People can continue to eat their junk food," Dr. Leaf said. "You won't have to change your diet, but you will be getting what you need."
No. That's just irresponsible of him to say. This is the sort of half-baked logic behind fad diets. Say this kind of garbage, and your average, ever-vigilant, think-things-through American consumer2 is going to take it at face value. A pound of bacon for breakfast? Sure! The newspaper says it's good for my heart!

Honestly, I love the pig. It's a truly wonderful animal3, especially as far as food goes, able to be converted into all sorts of deliciousness. But consumed in moderation, damn it. First, industrial farming practices stripped the pig of its fat and real flavor4, and now this.

For contrast, check out this excerpt from Michael Pollan's upcoming book, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. It's a meditation on food and killing, and understanding the difficult bond between hunter and hunted. It's a much more intelligent approach to understanding food, where it comes from, and what it means to eat. Pollan approaches the root of the issue, while Leaf5 takes the merest glance at the surface.

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1Genetically modified organism. The problem with GMO is that we don't know what the long-term - or even medium-term - ramifications of this might be. Problems could range anywhere from zero ecological impact, to loss of biodiversity through interbreeding and competition with existing organisms, to crazy George Romero-style zombie infestation. You never know, but it's fiddling with complex and poorly-understood systems, often promoting industrial-scale food production and monocropping, which aren't particularly kind to the environment as is.

2Yes. Sarcasm.

3Or "magical animal", if you're Homer Simpson.

4And dignity. Feedlots, cages and the like are just cruel. Truly horrific pratices, like child-labor sweatshops for animals.

5The guy's an emeritus professor of clinical medicine at Harvard. I realize that the Car Talk guys went to M.I.T., but they pretend to be dumb in a self-effacing, funny way. This guy's just a complete idiot.

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