A team of Japanese scientists claim to have created genetically modified (GM) pigs, which they say will produce healthier pork. The scientists created the “healthy” pigs by engineering them to carry a gene called FAD2, which is found in spinach. The pigs represent a world first, as it is the first time that plant genes have been shown to function correctly in a living mammal. According to Akira Iritani and his colleagues, the meat from the animals will be much healthier than normal pork as the FAD2 gene converts roughly one fifth of the piglets’ saturated fatty acids into considerably healthier linoleic acids.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.bbc.co.uk on the 24th January 2002
