Genetically Enhanced "Enviropig" Excretes 65 Percent Less Phosphorous
How do you make a pig more environmentally palatable? Researchers in Canada have decided to start with the nastiest stuff and work their way up. Enviropig, approved for limited production in Canada, is a genetically modified swine whose urine and feces contain 65 percent less phosphorous than a normal pig, a genomic tweak that could pay both environmental and financial dividends. Phosphorous is a necessary element in living things, facilitating a smattering of cellular functions. But it's also an environmental hazard, especially when it escapes into the water supply, where it can cause algal blooms that deplete oxygen levels in lakes, rivers and ocean deltas. That danger has led to strict legal regulations on the handling of animal waste that can be costly for pork producers. Pigs get plenty of their necessary phosphorous from their daily intake of grains, but much of the phosphorous contained in pig feed is indigestible. To remedy...