susceptibletocancersothatitcanbeusedtoscreenpossible
carcinogens. The grant followed a 1980 Supreme Court
decision which made it possible to patent man-made
microorganisms,butthiswasthefirsttimethatapatenthad
been given for an animal.^142
Religiousleaders,animalrightsadvocates,environmentalists,
andranchers(whoareworriedabouttheprospectofbeing
forced to pay royalties to remain competitive) have now
formed a coalition to stop the patenting of animals.
Meanwhile genetic engineering companies are already
working with agribusiness interests to invest money in
research designed to create new animals. Unless public
pressureputsastoptosuchwork,therewillbehugefortunes
tobemadefromanimalswhoputonmoreweightorproduce
more milk or eggs in a shorter time.
Thethreattoanimalwelfareisalreadyobvious.Researchers
attheU.S. Departmentof Agriculture’sfarmat Beltsville,
Maryland,haveintroducedgenes forgrowthhormonesinto
pigs. The genetically altered pigs developed serious side
effects,includingpneumonia,internalbleeding,andasevere
formofcripplingarthritis.Apparentlyonlyoneofthesepigs
survivedtoadulthood,andthenlivedforonlytwoyears.This
pigwasshownonBritishtelevision,appropriatelyenough,on
TheMoneyProgramme.Thepigwasunabletostand.^143 One
of the researchers responsible toldThe Washington Times:
We’re at theWright Brothers stagecompared to the 747.
We’regoingtocrashandburnforanumberofyearsandnot
get very far off the ground for a while.