If the proposed genetic manipulation proves successful at making pigs that don't mind their imminent doom quite so much next steps might involve attempts to bring DNA imposed tranquility to an even more troublesome animal.
.d.
via Boing Boing...
The Daily Mail has an article about "farmyard freaks" -- livestock that has been genetically engineered to make them totally docile.
Factory farming techniques, most commonly used with pigs and chicken, often involve keeping animals confined in cramped conditions.
For pigs, who are highly intelligent, these conditions can lead to stress and aggression.
However, GM scientists are actively investigating ways to remove the stress and aggression gene from animals, effectively turning them into complacent zombies.
The professor said it might become technically possible to produce "animal vegetables" - beasts which are "highly prolific and oblivious to their physical and mental status".
[...]
Link to article -
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=427963&in_page_id=1770>
Permalink to Boing Boing post -
<http://www.boingboing.net/2007/01/12/zombie_pigs_genetica.html>