4 ms·

I want to know what exactly was changed to help them "endure climate change" because to me it sounds like bullshit designed to create a proprietary cow genome w

I want to know what exactly was changed to help them "endure climate change" because to me it sounds like bullshit designed to create a proprietary cow genome with a pretty story to sell it.

dillondoyle 5y ago
Also 'endure climate change' is so grossly ironic. Instead of factoring in the costs of our actions, engineer ways to lower price and feed more demand -> and thus creating more methane, forest destruction, emissions from feed, huge waste of water, and all the gas shipping it a continent away. If people won't reduce their beef consumption, maybe we can crispr out some methane (seems not possible just based on chemistry but who knows?). Or maybe just let the real price with externalities lower consumption.
- s1artibartfast 5y ago
  The methane isn't from the cows, it is from the bacteria in their gut. It can be greatly reduced with supplemental feeding that changes the microbiome
  - Eduard 5y ago
    The methane isn't from the bacteria, it is from their food. If the inefficient cow/bacteria processing step is skipped, the whole production pipeline is greatly more climate-friendly.
    - s1artibartfast 5y ago
      More specifically, it is a waste product from bacteria digesting the food. The food doesn't turn to methane without the bacteria. https://jasbsci.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40104-017-0145-9 https://jasbsci.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40104-01...
      - matthewdgreen 5y ago
        But genes to appear to modulate gut microbiota composition on other animals, so it's not impossible that there is some genetic modification (to cattle) that would have the desired effect.
        s1artibartfast 5y ago
        oh, I totally agree that there could be some design space around this.
        s1artibartfast 5y ago
        Another alternative is GMO feed that contain some of the same nutrients as seaweed. Gene transfer might be easier between seaweed and feed then seaweed and cow
  - matthewdgreen 5y ago
    I've read a lot about this, but is it being done at any scale? And how much extra does it cost?
    - s1artibartfast 5y ago
      Not that I am aware of, but I am far from an expert in the area. This paper[1] suggests it would cost about ~20 cents per lb of beef https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0247820 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal...
  - dillondoyle 5y ago
    Very cool to see the knowledge of guy/microbiome growing. I wonder if that means it would actually be possible, more likely I would guess to modify the corn or whatever gross food we feed most cows.
microjim 5y ago
That information, alongside a comparison photo, is available in the first (very short) paragraph. The modification is to have them grow much shorter hair in order to tolerate heat better.
wedn3sday 5y ago
I dont mean to sound condescending here, but it would have taken you 2-5 seconds to find the answer to your question. This comment is an example of bad internet discourse. However! I agree that the who-owns-the-genes question is interesting.

I want to know what exactly was changed to help them "endure climate change" because to me it sounds like bullshit designed to create a proprietary cow genome with a pretty story to sell it.

dillondoyle 5y ago

Also 'endure climate change' is so grossly ironic. Instead of factoring in the costs of our actions, engineer ways to lower price and feed more demand -> and thus creating more methane, forest destruction, emissions from feed, huge waste of water, and all the gas shipping it a continent away. If people won't reduce their beef consumption, maybe we can crispr out some methane (seems not possible just based on chemistry but who knows?). Or maybe just let the real price with externalities lower consumption.

s1artibartfast 5y ago
The methane isn't from the cows, it is from the bacteria in their gut. It can be greatly reduced with supplemental feeding that changes the microbiome
- Eduard 5y ago
  The methane isn't from the bacteria, it is from their food. If the inefficient cow/bacteria processing step is skipped, the whole production pipeline is greatly more climate-friendly.
  - s1artibartfast 5y ago
    More specifically, it is a waste product from bacteria digesting the food. The food doesn't turn to methane without the bacteria. https://jasbsci.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40104-017-0145-9 https://jasbsci.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40104-01...
    - matthewdgreen 5y ago
      But genes to appear to modulate gut microbiota composition on other animals, so it's not impossible that there is some genetic modification (to cattle) that would have the desired effect.
      - s1artibartfast 5y ago
        oh, I totally agree that there could be some design space around this.
      - s1artibartfast 5y ago
        Another alternative is GMO feed that contain some of the same nutrients as seaweed. Gene transfer might be easier between seaweed and feed then seaweed and cow
- matthewdgreen 5y ago
  I've read a lot about this, but is it being done at any scale? And how much extra does it cost?
  - s1artibartfast 5y ago
    Not that I am aware of, but I am far from an expert in the area. This paper[1] suggests it would cost about ~20 cents per lb of beef https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0247820 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal...
- dillondoyle 5y ago
  Very cool to see the knowledge of guy/microbiome growing. I wonder if that means it would actually be possible, more likely I would guess to modify the corn or whatever gross food we feed most cows.

microjim 5y ago

That information, alongside a comparison photo, is available in the first (very short) paragraph. The modification is to have them grow much shorter hair in order to tolerate heat better.

wedn3sday 5y ago

I dont mean to sound condescending here, but it would have taken you 2-5 seconds to find the answer to your question. This comment is an example of bad internet discourse. However! I agree that the who-owns-the-genes question is interesting.