Not Grass Fed, But At Least Pain-Free

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/opinion/19shriver.html?emc=eta1

My dad, who has been keeping up with my blog, sent me a fascinating article today regarding the pain of animals on feedlots. With an increasing population and American demand at more than 100 pounds of red meat per person per year , it looks as though there is no end in sight to mass production in the meat industry. For greater efficiency, cattle on feedlots are barely given any room to graze and are fed corn instead of grass at the expense of their comfort. Although there is no solution at present to changing these factory farms, scientists are beginning to look into ways to reduce the discomfort of animals.

Recently, neuroscientists have gathered new information regarding how animals process pain. There are two separate pathways for perceiving this pain in the brain, and scientists believe that by damaging one of these cortexes, they can also eliminate the pain that an animal feels. Even more incredible, scientists are beginning to discover how to genetically engineer animals in such a way where they lack proteins that allow them to feel this pain in the first place. Although experiments on pain have only been conducted on mice at this point, neuroscientists doubt the results will be much different if performed on cattle or chickens.

Now the question is: Is this innovation a good idea? Is it ethical to take away pain that animals feel just so that we can exploit them without guilt? Or is it just to free them of pain if we're going to continue our consuming ways? Will this change exacerbate our over-consuming ways?