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Better Pork Featured Articles

Better Pork magazine is published bimonthly. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Lab-grown meat - Earth's saviour or unnatural?

Monday, August 4, 2014

Cultured meat, in vitro meat, test-tube meat – the stuff goes by many names. Some see it as the only feasible option for an overpopulated Earth. Others turn up their noses at the concept, calling it "unnatural."

Two Dutch researchers, Cor van der Weele and Johannes Tramper, hope to bridge the divide. In a paper published in the June issue of Trends in Biotechnology, they envision a future in which "pigs in backyards or on animal-friendly (urban) farms would serve as the living donors of muscle stem cells through biopsies. These pigs live happy lives as companion animals while their cells are cultured in local meat factories."

The pigs would suffer only the occasional prick of a needle, and consumers would be able to see and touch the living pig that produced their meat. This, van der Weele and Tramper believe, would "reverse feelings of alienation."

The paper cites research estimating that cultured meat could reduce greenhouse gas emissions, land use and water use by 90 per cent compared with standard European beef production. At this point, production of the "cultured-meat slurry" (yum!) is too costly to make it a real market contender. BP

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June 2025

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Calf Auction Raises Funds for Youth

Monday, June 30, 2025

Wyatt Westman-Frijters from Milverton won a heifer calf named Ingrid through a World Milk Day promotion by Maplevue Farms and a local Perth, Ontario radio station. Instead of keeping the calf, 22-year-old Westman-Frijters chose to give back to the community. The calf was sent to the... Read this article online

Expert Gopher Help for Farmers

Friday, June 27, 2025

With gopher populations increasing across Saskatchewan, many landowners are struggling with crop loss and land damage. These rodents not only reduce crop yields but also create dangerous conditions for livestock. In response, the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF), supported by the... Read this article online

Cattle Stress Tool May Boost Fertility

Friday, June 27, 2025

Kansas State University researchers have developed a cool tool that may help reduce cattle stress and improve artificial insemination (AI) results. The idea came from animal science experts Nicholas Wege Dias and Sandy Johnson, who observed that cattle accustomed to their environment... Read this article online

Ontario pasture lands get $5M boost

Friday, June 27, 2025

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $5 million to strengthen shared community grazing pastures. This funding supports the province’s plan to protect Ontario’s agriculture sector and help cattle farmers improve pasture quality, ensuring long-term sustainability and... Read this article online

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