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<br />The irony seems particularly cruel considering
<br />that pigs are perhaps the most intelligent farm
<br />animal, Of all livestock, pigs are the most similar to
<br />humans in personality, intelligence, digestive system,
<br />even skin characteristics (that's why pigskin grafts
<br />are used to treat third-degree burn victims). Yet
<br />many pigs spend their entire lives in what are called
<br />"confmement operations." While smaller hog farmers
<br />generally confine their animals for limited periods,
<br />seven of ten Iowa bogs are now raised in total con-
<br />f"Inement, never seeing the light of day"" In some
<br />confinement operations, pigs are stacked in cages
<br />three deep, so that excrement from pigs above falls on
<br />those below. tn these arrangements pigs may have
<br />less than seven square feet of living space each. ,.
<br />Giventhis scenario of cruelty, the willingness
<br />ofresearchers to genetically engineer pigs destined to
<br />be afllicted with arthritis and other ills can be seen as
<br />part of a continuum of inhumane treatment that has
<br />characterized the pork industry for years.
<br />Aside from the welfare of the animals them-
<br />selves, many people have concerns about the possible
<br />effects on human health of consumption of milk or
<br />meat from genetically engineered animals. With the
<br />marketing of genetically engineered pork perhaps
<br />only a few years away, an instructive example of the
<br />forces that may come into play is found in the current
<br />controversy over the genetically engineered hormone
<br />BST (bovine somatotropin, the genetically engineered
<br />analogne of the naturally occurring BGH, or bovine
<br />growth hormone). BST is injected into dairy cows to
<br />increase their milk production. The manufacturers of
<br />BST-Monsanto, American Cyanamid, Upjohn, Eli
<br />Lilly and Dow Chemical-who anticipate $500-million
<br />annual worldwide sales of the hormone, claim that
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<br />(Flying Pig design by Harley Elliott
<br />for Pipe Creek Shirts)
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<br />there are no harmful effects from drinking BST-
<br />treated milk. '"
<br />However, Dr. Samuel S. Epstein of the Univer-
<br />sity of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago, has d.ocu-
<br />mented faulty experimental procedures as well as
<br />outright cover-ups'in research conducted by corpora-
<br />tions and in university research programs funded by
<br />these chemical companies. Epstein cites independent
<br />. studies that point to such dangers as increased
<br />concentrations in BST-treated milk of antibiotics,
<br />viruses, fat-soluble carcinogens and growth factors,
<br />all of which are, ,if consumed at high levels, harmful
<br />to humans""
<br />So heated is the debate over BST that it be-
<br />came a major issue in the Wisconsin governor's race.
<br />In that state, however, the .possible dangers to human
<br />health are mostly overshadowed by the concern that
<br />commercial use ofBST could put small dairy farmers
<br />out ofbusiness.20 Only the largest operators would be
<br />able to afford the expensive BST injections, and since
<br />BST-treated cows produce 10-25% more milk than
<br />other cows, operators who use them could undercut
<br />their competition."
<br />Similarly, transgenic pigs would be affordable
<br />only for the largest pork producers. Thus, the entry
<br />of these pigs onto the market could accelerate an
<br />already disturbing trend-the concentration of the
<br />pork indus~ry into fewer and fewer hands. Up to the
<br />1960s, hogs served a valuable function for small
<br />farmers struggling to get established. In a 1981
<br />study, Take Hogs, for Example: The Transformation
<br />of Hog Farming in America, Chuck Hassebrook and
<br />Marty Strange describe the former role of pigs on the
<br />family farm:
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<br />Most of the money from selling hogs is
<br />available to meet the farmer's cash flow
<br />requirements on a regular basis. Unlike a
<br />great many farm enterprises, hog produc-
<br />tion is a labor-intensive enterprise which'
<br />requires relatively little investment in
<br />facilities and equipment.... In fact, be-
<br />cause hogs provide a low-investment
<br />means of earning the cash income from
<br />which to pay other bills-including the
<br />farm mortgage-they have been viewed
<br />for decades as a key commodity for the
<br />beginning farmer with little equity. So
<br />successful were hogs in this respect that
<br />they became known in the popular lingo
<br />as "mortgage burners....
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<br />Those were the days. Now the majority of hogs
<br />in this country are raised in huge, mechanized
<br />complexes, some of which can house over 100,000 pigs
<br />at a time.23 One factory operation produces half a
<br />million hogs a year and farrows 30,000 sows.24 Be-
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