Something we all agree on: We will always eat meat. Humans will always raise cows, whether they feel pain or not, in order to kill them and eat them.

So if we CAN get a cow that feels no pain – that can only be better than the status quo, right?

None of this addresses the broader issues with meat. Millions of acres of land is taken up growing grain, not to feed to people, but to feed to animals that yield a lower nutritional value than if we ate the grain ourselves. Any way you look at it, that’s a bad investment. You don’t have to care about animal welfare to see that our assumptions about food supply are unsustainable.

They will experience only happy events, green fields and sexy members of the opposite sex (or same sex if they swing that way).

This system will produce the best tasting and most ethical meat ever experienced by mankind. I suggest we start with pigs. They’re smarter, grow faster and tastier. Both we and they would see a larger benefit sooner.

As for aftershock’s comment, whether she/he originally meant to generalize and accidentally hit upon something particular, the words they use still actually mean the exact same thing, so it’s not truly a pun, which is when you say something that has two meanings that are different but equally applicable.

As for the “As long as nobody’s getting hurt”, I think I see where aftershock is coming from. You could generally say “as long as nobody’s getting hurt” about any subject. But this particular subject *is* about not hurting (animals), which makes it somewhat pun-worthy.

“‘A green salad,’ said Arthur emphatically.
‘A green salad?’ said the animal, rolling his eyes disapprovingly at Arthur.
‘Are you going to tell me,’ said Arthur, ‘that I shouldn’t have green salad?’
‘Well,’ said the animal, ‘I know many vegetables that are very clear on that point. Which is why it was eventually decided to cut through the whole tangled problem and breed an animal that actually wanted to be eaten and capable of saying so clearly and distinctly. And here I am.’
It managed a very slight bow” (Adams, 121).

“A large dairy animal approached Zaphod Beeblebrox’s table, a large fat meaty quadruped of the bovine type with large watery eyes, small horns and what might have been an ingratiating smile on its lips.

‘Good evening,’ it lowed and sat back heavily on its haunches, ‘I am the main Dish of the Day. May I interest you in parts of my body?’ It harrumphed and gurgled a bit, wriggled its hind quarters into a more comfortable position and gazed peacefully at them” (Adams, 119).

From the 1980 Pocket Fiction paperback.

It’s unethical not to.

Just like humans. If you have an empty stomach, but are having lower GI issues, how much do you eat? I know that when my ass is in pain, that pain signals for me to not put more food through the system.

The point, though, overall is that pain is a very important part of the set of stimuli that we — all animals — have evolved with. Our systems rely on such signals to perform correctly & optimally. Taking the pain away, so to speak, would seriously screw things up.

“PETA would have a cow anyway(no pun intended).”

^That HAD to be intended.

“If we can do it and its not hurting anyone then why not? (no pun intended)”

^What pun?

As for the story, I usually have a clear personal sense of ethical issues, but I admit to actually being a bit stumped by this one. It’s a frothy mix of pity, convenience and ruthlessness. I feel like there’s a Philip K. Dick story in there somewhere.

If we can do it and its not hurting anyone then why not? (no pun intended)

So, no to pain-free cows but YES to steaks of beef cells grown in vats with no nervous system to feel pain, joy or anything else.

However, folks from peta and greenpeace would find a reason to complain anyways, imho.

In the meantime, reexamine your place in the world, what you mean to your surroundings and what your surroundings mean to you – or if you’re like most people – examine it for the first time. Food for thought, and it won’t give you the runs at 4am.

If the way a child abusing animals reflects the child as a whole, and typically leads to some less than desirable behaviors as an adult – and if the way modern society abusing animals reflects society as a whole, and may lead to some sociopathic, bizarre and less than humane cultural values and international practices in the future – What does something like this make the child?

That’s not to say there wouldn’t be other issues with cows without pain perception. Presumably the same problem humans with this mutation have (e.g. ignoring injuries and lacking fear of things that cause pain) would also be a problem here and could result in more injuries, infections and preventable deaths.

You might say, “Well, gee, if they can’t feel pain, YUM YUM”.

Uh, no. Minor pain is a normal part of digestion & growth. If you eat too much, you feel pain. If you are sick, you feel pain. Both kinds of pain are signals to your body to change behavior accordingly, to stop eating or defend against the illness.

Same goes for animals.

So, in fact, this is a stupid idea.

BTW: Foie Gras would be inedible if the ducks/geese were under the claims of stress/pain that the likes of PETA claims. The best foie gras is produced on farms where the ducks/geese are the happiest, and that includes during feeding.