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China’s Suffering A Critical Meat Shortage, And Its $35 Million Answer Boggles The Mind

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Steve Ambrose Contributor
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Finding a way to feed over a billion Chinese people must be a herculean challenge, but a team of Asian researchers might have found a solution.

China is preparing to construct the world’s largest animal cloning farm, Agence France-Presse reported Nov. 24. The $35-million facility will be located in the government sponsored Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Area (TEDA) and will produce dogs, horses, and cattle for food and as well as pets. (RELATED: Pentagon Trying To Create Real Life Master Chief To Defeat Russians And Chinese)

Xu Xiaochun is the chairman of Boyalife, one of the cloning institutes involved.  Xiaochun said that “Chinese farmers are struggling to produce enough beef cattle to meet market demand.” Because of the supply shortage, the facility will start experimenting with 100,000 cattle embryos a year. Eventually, the number of embryos will grow to one million a year Xiaochun said. (RELATED: US Navy Sending A Destroyer Within 12 Miles Of China’s Artificial Islands Within 24 Hours)

In addition to Boyalife, the cloning farm is a joint effort between Sinica, Peking University’s Institute of Molecular Medicine, the Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, and South Korea’s Sooam Biotech Research Foundation.

Sooam Biotech is known specifically for their dog cloning experiments. In fact, listed on their website are instructions for preserving a recently deceased dog in order to extract live cells to clone.

The announcement of the animal farm, however, was met with some healthy skepticism from the public, who flocked to social media to express their concerns.

“Is this meat going to be sold in South Korea or China? If in China, please make our leaders eat it first,” AFP reported one user saying.

“This beef definitely must first be saved just for the central government leaders,” another user posted. “Only after they and their families have eaten it for 10 years should they deign to give it to us, the people! Really can’t wait!”

Genetic experimentation is not a new phenomenon in China.

BGI, a genomic research institution, announced Sept. 23 that they were selling genetically altered micropigs, tailored to the specifications of each customer. For instance, consumers could pick the pig’s color and coat pattern.

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