The Programmes
Programme Three
The final programme down on Animal Farm looks at how genetic technologies already impact on our day-to-day lives. Charmayne James, one of the US's most successful female rodeo riders, talks about how she has cloned her champion steed, Scamper. He was unable to breed naturally because he was gelded at a young age. Charmayne introduces us to Scamper and his newly cloned twin, Clayton, to show us just how similar they are.
The film introduces the project involving goats that have been implanted with a gene to make them produce spider silk proteins in their milk. Spider silk is amongst the strongest and most flexible material known. It is used for the production of everything from bullet-proof jackets to parachutes and airbags.
Then, of course, there are the pigs that have been engineered to help solve the global pollution crisis…
Like it or not, one thing this series shows is that genetic modification experiments are well under way. Perhaps it's time drop the knee-jerk reaction and engage in a little more serious debate about what is and what isn't acceptable in terms of animal and environmental welfare.
