Monday, January 15, 2007

Cloning opens door to 'farmyard freaks'

Guess I am on a weird food kick today....Hey Shaun, check this one out!

Efforts to clone and genetically modify farm livestock may lead to the creation of "Farmyard Freaks", experts have warned.

A former government adviser warns of a nightmarish situation where "zombie" and fast-growing super-size animals, are the norm.

Large scale farming techniques, commonly used with pigs and chicken, involve keeping animals kept in cramped conditions. For animals like pigs, these conditions can lead to stress and aggression.

Scientists are investigating ways to remove the stress and aggression gene from animals, effectively turning them into complacent zombies.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know Paul, there's another story here, but I reckon it wouldn't be pleasant to write, and the images that come to mind...but, having said that, stay tuned for 'Of mice and - ' soon.

Beam Me Up said...

Are you talking about expounding on "Of Mice and ...."? The short version of this story is VERY disturbing. You pair it up with Resnick's "old McDonald had a farm" and you have nightmares for a week. I have read your "Of Mice.." and can see how it is so very possible. Matter of fact, I am hoping that you will let me run it on a future show. I think it is so very much in the vein of these stories and what Beam Me Up is all about.
Thanks for the imput.
Paul

Anonymous said...

Paul, the story is yours to run as soon as it appears on AntiSF (i.e., at this stage, I don't see any barrier to running it in conjunction with its appearance in around April at AntiSF, if you're up for it)

Beam Me Up said...

Great! "Of Mice and..." is a great piece of in your face science fiction. I am glad I had a chance to preview it. I urge anyone that hasn't signed up with AntiSF to do so so as not to miss the read. As soon as you give me the go ahead, I will be all over that one. I like the knife edge your fiction walks. When you stop to figure out what is going on you get more than you bargain for. Yes, Of Mice and... will be a feather in my cap for sure.