Environmentally friendly pig poo?

[marmar]

from Aolnews:



'Enviropig' Touted for Eco-Friendly Excrement
Updated: 2 days 3 hours ago


AOL News (April 1) -- Pig excrement isn't the kind of thing that's ever going to be considered "clean." That doesn't mean it can't be cleaner, though, and researchers at the University of Guelph in Ontario claim they've achieved just that using genetic engineering to create what they have called "Enviropig."

The greener, cleaner swine dung will likely still stink, but the researchers hope it won't be as damaging to the environment.

Animal waste is a big problem for what are known as confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), where thousands of animals are raised in close quarters. Pigs are prodigious poopers: A pig produces about three times more excrement per head than a human.

All that pig waste is a major headache for pork producers and nearby residents, but one of its biggest problems involves phosphorous. When phosphorous from pig excrement or other sources gets into a body of water, it can create algae blooms that choke the area beneath them of oxygen, leading to gigantic "dead zones."

Pigs in CAFOs are mostly fed cereal grains and corn, which contain a form of phosphorous that cannot be digested without phytase, an enzyme that pigs lack. Farmers typically supplement their animals' diets with phytase, but the results are imperfect. Enviropig produces the enzyme itself in its salivary glands, which the creators at the University of Guelph boast will reduce phosphorous in pig waste by 30 to 65 percent. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.aolnews.com/science/article/enviropig-touted-for-eco-friendly-excrement/19423497

[femmocrat]

1. Good grief.

Wonder what effect this enzyme will have on the humans who consume the pork? I agree with this guy: (from the same article)

"The answer to the pig waste problem will not come from a lab but rather from policies that crack down on the disastrous practice of factory hog farming," said Philpott.

[Merchant Marine]

2. Read the article

The enzyme is already in pig feed.

[Champion Jack]

3. Another reason to find and buy pastured pork from a local producer