environmentally friendly livestock thanks to roos?

Question

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22879895-13762,00.html

I found an article about making cows and sheep more environmentally friendly using roo stomachs, I'm wondering what the moral and ethical issues would be associated with such a thing, religious imput wouldn't be so bad either.

I'm wondering what other people views of this would be.

debate whether it's positive or negative if possible

Answer 1

The article is not about transplanting stomachs or genetic modification. Its about isolating roo bacteria and adding it to cattle and sheep. All animals especially grazers utilize bacteria to digest food(humans included). It they can isolate the particular bacteria that reduces food without producing methane, we reduce global warming caused by methane. It is possible that identifying this bacteria we may also help humans who suffer from"excessive gas" by adding this bacteria to their diet.

Answer 2

The article was about identifying the bacteria in roos stomachs that results in them producing no methane and introducing it into cattle and sheep, aka ruminant stomachs to reduce/remove the methane they produce.

Frankly, I think they will find that it can not survive or other reasons. Roos, cattle and sheep have been living together for over 200 years in Australia and if it was possible for this to happen, then there is a good chance that it would already have done so.

If you are really worried,then reduce your consumption of cattle and sheep meat and products. there are plenty of alternative meat/protein sources.

Unfortunately more religious dogma isn't going to help. The christian church has an ethos that any subjugation of nature by mankind is good and that the wilderness is to be destroyed. If we had followed their words, then roos would have been exterminated a century ago.

The other thing to keep in mind, that roos do not produce meat as efficently as cattle & sheep, otherwise there would already be large scale farming of them. so, it might not turn out to be useful anyway.