A recent segment aired by the National Geographic Channel offers a glimpse into the eerie production of so-called "super cows," which intentionally bear a defective gene that allows them to grow atypically large with a "double muscle" build.
This somewhat "mutant" cattle breed is officially known as the Belgian Blue, and its origins date back to the early 1800s when Belgian scientists and farmers decided to breed native cattle with Shorthorn and possibly Charolais cattle varieties to create a stronger and more beefy crossbreed. Over time, cattle breeders would select the strongest and largest animals of each variety and breed them together to create allegedly superior offspring.
"Selective breeding ... is used by farmers to enhance desirable characteristics in their animals," explains the National Geographic Channel about the process. "[It's] all about managing sex. To create these Belgian Blues over 100 years, farmers have only allowed the cows and bulls with the greatest muscle mass to mate. And the result is a bull that weighs over a ton."
The tradition of breeding Belgian Blues in this manner lives on. But today's Belgian Blues are even more selectively bred, as technological advances have given breeders new insight into genetic modifications. As it turns out, the most successful Belgian Blues possess an inherent genetic defect that causes their muscles to continue growing, which is what gives them their enormous size.
Though technically variant from the type of genetic modifications found in Monsanto's soybeans, for instance, the Belgian Blue is purposely bred with this defective gene, known as myostatin, which alters its normal growing patterns. The myostatin gene is responsible for telling the body when to stop producing muscle, and in Belgian Blues, its failure allows exceptional growth above and beyond the norm.
"There is a gene that regulates the growth of muscles in cattle," adds the National Geographic Channel about the process. "These cows have been selectively bred from animals that contain a copy of this gene which doesn't work. As a result, their muscles grow far larger than normal. To ensure the defective gene is passed on, sex for the Belgian Blues has been replaced by technology in the form of artificial insemination."
What is the purpose of all this? To create more beef, of course, which in turn generates more profits for the factory meat industry. And Belgian Blues are reportedly becoming more popular in the U.S., where greed and profits are king.
This is a poorly researched article. Double muscling is a genetic DEFECT. It is NOT a trait that is desirable because it slows down growth rates in animals and is unpalatable. Animals with this defect are NOT breed. The trait is unwanted. No facility markets these animals PERIOD because they do not meet quality standards. Also, do you have any idea what artificial insemination is?? Artificial insemination can NOT ensure ANY trait in offspring. The semen is collected and inserted in the female (similar to what a human would do if they got sperm from a sperm bank). Crossing over will still occur naturally in the zygote and will provide genetic variation and again, NO ONE WANTS DOUBLE MUSCLING! Research Temple Grandin and all of the changes that have been made to the agriculture industry. She has audited major producers for companies like McDonalds and Wendy's and brought the handling and life quality up to activist standards. The horrors of the animal industry are one in a thousand facilities ( and there are barely 1,000 major facilities in The US). Take a biology class and go out in the Agriculture field before you publish totally idiotic articles like this.
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