Super Livestock

[Anchor Lead]

The movie "Okja," which has opened recently, is about a super pig that was created through genetic modification to help bolster food supplies in the future. But this is no longer something out of science fiction. Korean and Chinese researchers have succeeded in developing super pigs and registered a patent for them.

[Pkg]

This giant pig as big as a hippo is the main character of the movie "Okja." It was developed by combining the genes of a pig and a hippo. Large pigs developed through genetic modification have now become a reality. Fleshy and muscular, they have twice as much muscle mass as regular pigs of the same age. The amount of muscle was increased by removing myostatin, which suppresses muscle growth in pigs, using a gene editing technology. The super pigs were developed jointly by Korean and Chinese researchers. Last month they registered a patent.

[Soundbite] Koo Ok-jae(Staff at Superpig Developing Company) : "These pigs are more productive, as they have more muscle tissue and meat, and less fat."

In Belgium, researchers have begun raising super cows, which are double the size of Korean cows known as "hanwoo." But it will likely take some time before genetically modified meat is sold to consumers. Super salmon, which grows twice as fast as regular salmon and which was developed in the United States, took 20 years to be approved as food because of safety concerns and ethical issues.

[Soundbite] Lee Jung-joon(Staff at Bioengineering Company) : "There must be clear guidelines on safety and toxicity tests as well as on whether genetically modified substances are passed on to humans."

The development of genetically modified animals as a solution to food shortages has sparked new social issues.