Mindless meat

29.10.16: THE FIRST meat produced from non-sentient animals went on sale in New York today.

The "mindless meat" ­ sausages and cold cuts sold under the brand name Veggiemeat ­ comes from pigs genetically modified so that they will not develop consciousness.

Non-sentient pigs are produced by removing from the parent animals' germ-line cells (eggs and sperm) the genes that code for the neurotransmitters essential for awareness.

The resulting offspring are matured in a vegetative coma. Their muscles are then exercised by external electrical stimulation to give the meat normal texture.

"Mindless meat" was developed by a UN-funded team of neuroscientists to pave the way for global animal rights legislation that will prohibit the slaughter of unmodified animals for any purpose other than to relieve their pain.

The meat-eating lobby ­ thought to be about 15% of the world's population ­ threatened to make the legislation unworkable, but UN leaders hope the opposition will abate now that they are able to keep meat on the menu. RC