Pain-Free Animals Could Take Suffering Out of Farming

Philosopher Adam Shriver suggested that genetically engineering cows to feel no pain could be an acceptable alternative to eliminating factory farming in a paper published in Neuroscience. Work by neuroscientist Zhou-Feng Chen at Washington University may turn Shriver's suggestion a reality. Chen has been working on identifying the genes that control "affective" pain, the unpleasantness part of a painful sensation. He has managed to isolate a gene called P311, and has found that mice who do not have P311 don't have negative associations with pain, although they do react negatively to heat and pressure. This could end much of the concern about cruel farming practices, but unfortunately still leaves my design for the fiery hamburger punch in the unethical column.

Comments

Double no

[TaoPhoenix]

Pain serves no useful function anymore. Its chief use is now as something for bullies to threaten with.
What you mean is "a biological monitoring status feature" serves a function. But then on demand, we should be able to turn it off.
Except in action movies, bullies are in better physical shape than their victims. Once they get an advantage, it's like a gaming-control lock.

If pain were made optional, I think interesting things would happen to the legal code. You'd get more heavy duty conflicts.

Re:What is this doing under idle?

[icebike]

How did I know you vegans would weigh in with your overwrought horror stories.

Unlike you, I've actually worked on a farm, so don't bring that nonsense around here.

http://www.aces.edu/department/extcomm/npa/newsline/archives/cattle%20grazing.jpg