020135 Japanese Scientists Breed Pigs with Spinach GenesJanuary 26, 2002Tokyo - Meat lovers may one day worry a little bit less about their fat intake thanks to Japanese scientists who say they have produced healthier pork by breeding pigs implanted with spinach genes. "This is the world's first success in breeding mammals with plant genes," research team leader Akira Iritani, a professor of genetic engineering at Kinki University in western Japan, said. Iritani said his group had put spinach genes into the fertilized egg of a pig and planted it in the mother. No health problems had been seen in the genetically engineered pigs, the first of which was born three-and-a-half years ago, he said. Iritani said their meat would be "more healthy" than normal pork although it was too early to say whether it could be considered as healthy as spinach. "But the significance of this success is more academic than practical," he added.
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