You going to eat that?

 

A number of years ago I was listening to a program on the radio broadcast by our local NPR station from James Madison University.  The program consisted of a live interview of an academic conducting research into inter-species gene transfer from humans to swine.  Specifically, they were trying to perfect the transfer of a healthy human gene, for the production of insulin, into pigs for the purpose of inexpensive high volume insulin production and a significant reduction of cost. 

Years ago, I had worked for the USDA plant Research Facility in Beltsville, MD.  While there I worked on a great number of experiments into various treatments for fungal plant diseases of crop plants.  Most of the time the plants, treatments, and fungal infections were conducted in petri dishes and on seeds, but sometimes the experiments resulted in fully mature field grown crops that yielded harvestable quantities of “home grown veggies”.  When the tests were over, we often took the resultant food home and ate it. I got a lot of free string beans that way, and no one there turned their noses up at free the food.

This experience prompted me to call into the NPR program and ask: “How many human genes can you put into a pig before you don’t want to eat it?”   The radio went ominously silent for a long time, radio “dead air” of several long seconds.  Somewhat flustered, the folks on the program assured me that nobody would ever be eating the experimental pigs.  I, of course knew better.  Human nature being what it is, if the process they were proposing were ever to become commonplace; there would be some pigs eaten by humans.  What this means, I’m sure I don’t know.

Just recently, I listened to another NPR program where researchers were successfully translating “pig language”, the grunts and groans and squeals, into messages in human language.  The hope was that pig farmers would be able to better understand and respond to the pigs wants, complaints, and needs.  Presumably, the farmers might also be able to communicate back to the pigs with their wants, complaints, and needs.  The obvious question then becomes:

“How many people want to eat pigs that you can talk to?”