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Egg Production and GE Ethics
Episode 213

Egg Production and GE Ethics

There is an unfortunate side to egg production. Only female chickens produce eggs, so layers are selected at hatching. Chicks are sexed with a vent inspection. Females are kept for egg production. Males live a short ride down a conveyor into a chipper,

Talking Biotech with Dr. Kevin Folta · Kevin M. Folta

November 16, 201939m 50s

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Show Notes

There is an unfortunate side to egg production.  Only female chickens produce eggs, so layers are selected at hatching.  Chicks are sexed with a vent inspection. Females are kept for egg production.  Males live a short ride down a conveyor into a chipper, where they are instantly killed.  This practice raises ethical and practical questions.  Dr. Nigel Urwin and his collaborators devised a way to identify the sex of eggs before hatching, allowing male eggs to be saved for direct consumption or vaccine manufacture. The concept is brilliant yet unfortunately stalled.  It is a great solution to an important problem with interesting  ethical edges.
 
The Original Article in The Guardian

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Topics

biotechsciencelife scienceplant biologyagricultureagtechbiology