"breeding" news and stories

The Food and Drug Administration has concluded that "meat and milk from clones and their progeny is as safe to eat as corresponding products derived from animals produced using contemporary agricultural practices," meaning that not only is the meat likely to be approved for human consumption and sold at stores, but that there will be no label to distinguish it from natural meat. Consumer groups want to see a label on the meat because most (64%) people are uncomfortable with the idea of eating cloned food, but the FDA's decision is based on the fact that there is no food safety issue in question, and no need to "warn" people about what they're eating in this case. "The bottom line is, we don't want to misinform consumers with some sort of implied message of difference," said one researcher, although this does seem to be at odds with existence of labels that indicate the difference between organic/nonorganic produce and grass fed beef, where there is not necessarily a health risk or benefit in question.

The Consumer Federation of America said that they, along with other groups, will ask food companies and supermarkets not to carry food from clones. "Meat and milk from cloned animals have no benefit for consumers, and consumers don't want them in their foods."

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On the heels of a great Harpers article about the business of pig breeding, Wired recently ran a piece about the sequencing pig genomes. Once the process is complete, breeders will be able to determine which pigs will taste best prior to slaughter as well as which will have the best yield and be less prone to disease. From there, these qualities can be built upon and accentuated.

The gist of the Harpers piece (which I don"t think is available on-line) is that there"s currently a movement among some of America"s largest pork producers to move back to a less lean, more complexly flavored type of pork. This move away from what the author calls "the chickenifaction of the American pig" is done by introducing stock from pigs (via pig sperm banks) that have not been bred so intensely.

Both are definitely worth a read if you"re interested in the fine tuning of livestock.

[Wired article via The Food Section]

Menus already chock-full of details about the soil quality in the area the salad spinach was grown and the precise variety of vanilla in the crème brule are soon going to have another detail: the sire of the steak. Always looking to be on the cutting edge of dining trends, some chefs are getting involved in animal husbandry to custom breed specific, and often rare, varieties of meat for their restaurants. They feel that this gives them an edge over companies that contract with well-known high-end producers. Whether or not there is any truth to the belief that things which are rarer are necessarily better or higher quality, chefs like David Burke are beginning to do things like buy bulls and find farmers to raise what will be a future meal, according to an article (subscription required to read it online) in the Wall Street Journal.

In an effort to breed better pork, the USDA will give $10 million to the University of Illinois to obtain a draft sequence of swine genome. The goal of the project is to create DNA-based tools to identify and propagate pigs that are more resistant to disease, breed larger litters and produce leaner meat. It's worth noting that heirloom pork has gained popularity, in part, because it isn't lean. The USDA isn't just seeking leaner pigs, but bigger, meatier pigs in general. The project would also try to identify the ideal climates for different breeds of pig, thereby allowing the animals to grow to their fullest potential. Work is scheduled to end in late 2007--the Chinese year of the pig.

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