Pigs have trouble fully digesting a phosphorus-based compound known as phytate found in many cereal grains used to feed them. Thus, they must be given phosphorus-enriched food supplements. Both the phytate and the excess phosphorus from supplements end up concentrated in the animal’s manure. This is then used as fertilizer for various crops.  This would not be a problem except that the excess phosphorus leaches into the soil and rain washes out much of the energy-rich substance into ponds, lakes, rivers and streams. This leads to hypertrophism of the algae in these water ways, which can ultimately choke most of the life in them.

But now comes ‘Enviropig’. Thanks to transgenic technology, a favorable gene from one animal can be inserted into the DNA of another, commercially valuable animal, resulting in a hybrid  that exhibits more favorable traits (in this case a “cleaner and greener” pig breed). This has been done with goats that produce spider silk in their milk, but the enviropig is one of the first created in direct response to concerns over environmental impacts.

University of Guelph scientists have created a transgenic pig — the Enviropig — which better digests phosphorus compounds. This development came in response to concerns of negative environmental impacts from animal manure run-off causing algal blooms in waterways, and consequently killing fish and other aquatic creatures.

An estimated 50 – 75 percent of the phosphorus in livestock feed (grains, corn, soy) is in the form of phytate. Phytate is a more stable and complex phosphorus compound (produced naturally in these feed plants) and normal pigs are not able to digest it completely.  The result of this incomplete digestion is that more phosphorus ends up in the pig’s manure which is subsequently used as fertilizer. Both soil  leaching and fertilizer run-off allow much of this to enter streams, ponds and other waterways–polluting them with algal over-growth and depriving the water of oxygen (this also happens from land run-off into marine systems).*

In response to growing concerns over manure-based, fertilizer run-off creating anoxic (no oxygen) conditions in fresh water habitats, researchers at the University of Guelph, in Ontario Canada, have taken a gene from the E. coli bacterium– one that codes for the phytase enzyme that breaks down phytate — and inserted it into the genome of a breed of Yorkshire pigs. The result is la pig with a normal growth rate, but which eats less food, produces less waste, less phytate excreted in the manure (30 – 65% less) and thus less phosphorus in land run-off to pollute local waterways and resources.

Health Canada has certified that the transgenic pig does indeed digest more phytate and does not have a negative environmental impact. Currently, the University is seeking approval from Health Canada and the US FDA stating that the pig is safe for human consumption.

* This anoxic effect occurs when, as algae die, aerobic bacteria begin   decomposing the dead algal cells. This process requires oxygen, and so, excessive decomposition of algae removes most if not all of the oxygen from the water. Once this happens, fish and many other invertebrates are deprived of oxygen and die off.

diagram: enviropig – courtesy of University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Wired computer labs work fine for kids. Photo by mikecogh via Flickr. Guest blogger Andrea Donsky is co-founder of NaturallySavvy.com. Wi-Fi is facing a lot of opposition from parents and teachers in Ontario. Last week, Lloyd Alter was critical of parents' claims that Wi-Fi may pose a health threat to students at elementary schools, ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: Government of Ontario Always Read the Fine Print When the rebates for plug-in hybrids and electric cars were first announced by the government of Ontario, there was no word on how many applicants would be accepted, and the size of the rebates was aid to be between $4,000 and $10,000 (depending on the capacity of the car's battery). But now that the tax measure is phasing in, the details are changing, and not for the better. Read on for details....Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image: Greencolander, Flickr In April 2009, it became illegal to sell or apply pesticides for cosmetic lawncare in Ontario, Canada. It seems like a no-brainer risk versus benefits analysis: the benefit is ...hmmm, just cosmetic...while the risks are real, documented, and pervasive. But somehow the allure of a green, weed-free lawn keeps conquering rationality. A year later, does the preliminary data on the effectiveness of Ontario's cosmetic pes...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Terrific illustration from the National Post We do go on about how The Greenest Brick is the One Already in the Wall, how old buildings have embodied energy, how renovation creates more jobs than new construction, and how Read the full story on TreeHugger

150 miles north of Toronto is the most extraordinary wilderness, Algonquin Provincial Park. If you own a car, it is an easy drive on good highways. If you don't it is not so easy; a bus or train to Huntsville, an expensive taxi ride or hitchhike in; for camping, just like anything else, the system is easy and convenient for cars and difficult for the rest. If we are going to get people out of cars, this has to change. And it is changing; this year a new non-profit called Read the full story on TreeHugger