"Grow" your own sneakers?

[Kanti]

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http://www.rayfish.com/

A company called Rayfish that apparently uses stingray skin for sneakers found a way to genetically
engineer stingrays to carry certain colors and patterns, this way, they simply engineer a stingray with
a certain pattern, allow it to grow, then harvest it for sneakers.
They have a contest out that allows you to design your own sneaker and if it wins they'll make you a pair
of sneakers from a genetically altered stingray.
Oh, also, the price to grow the stingray is $1,800.

Now, I know this is pretty annoying to think about. Is style REALLY that damn important that we need to
genetically alter a friggin stingray? Can't we just dye the shoes or something? Are people REALLY willing
to pay THAT much for a stupid pair of sneakers made from a stingray?

Well I sort of thought about it, but take into consideration all the other things we genetically modify and use
for our own purposes. The turkeys we eat for thanksgiving are so swollen and big they can't even mate normally
and have to be artificially inseminated, dogs are altered to make breeds that are more favorable, sometimes not
always for cute-n-cuddly reasons (rotweilers and pitbulls were genetically selected to be good at fighting off
threats or other dogs for entertainment), etc.

Any thoughts?

[Nyx]

I don't know if I agree with it.
I'm in the position where I don't consider using animals for clothing wrong so long as its humane, but i mean actually humane, where the animal gets to live and enjoy it's life fully.
However, genetically changing a sting ray for a pair of shoes doesn't sit well with me. That takes the charm out of a stingray's pattern. Not only that, but that price is ridiculous for a shoe. Something that probably wont last you too long.
If it were selective breeding to make patterns for the fish then it's more understandable. That's what they do for koi fish and other animals.
But still, that price for shoes is just ...

[Kanti]

Yea I sort of find it disrespectful to the animal.
I dunno how different it is from all the koi example, but like you said at least them it's a bit more
natural. I also don't know if the genetic engineering stays put to the skin or if it makes the stingray
meat unclean or something?
If you're using an animal for something, you may as well use the whole thing.

[Nyx]

Yeah I agree, it would be a waste not to use it all.
Genetic engineering is just changing the genes of the stingray before it is "made/conceived"
It should only affect the pattern of the skin and nothing else.
For example, lets say you want to make a lion with the coat pattern of a dalmatian (crazy examples for amusement)
you would take the gene of the dalmatian that says it will have spots and place it in the DNA of the lion (or something like that). It should not have any effect on the animal, unless for some reason skin pattern gene has an effect on the meat.
I hope that makes sense, We JUST finished learning this in bio.

[AniaR]

ugh that's sad I wouldnt wear shoes made out of stingrays. Im not vegetarian or anything, but I do try to avoid products like that

[Kanti]

Well I have no idea how far the gene for the skin goes, it may alter the flesh so I dunno xD
But yea, I just find it unneccessary. Don't we already have converse that you can have in a bunch
of colors? I thought half of the glamour of leather was that it looks natural. You don't see people
dying their leather belts bright purple, it's not classy.
So why would you do that to a stingray? It just seems so weird..

Either way I really don't support that. It's not the fact that they're using stingray that makes me
raise a brow, it's the fact that someone pays $1k to get a stingray genetically engineered just
because they can.

[Nyx]

Exactly, and in my opinion ....
They look hideous.
._.

[AniaR]

man if you were going to have one like that id be half tempted to want it as a pet

[Nyx]

man if you were going to have one like that id be half tempted to want it as a pet

Omy god XD
thats what I was thinking.

[Mermaid Saphira]

I would totally want a zebra stripped stingray as a pet!!!! <3

[Mermaid Lorelei]

There is the possibility of the stingray being 'tainted' by the genetic altering. I was a biology major for two years, so I know a bit about this stuff. Basically, unless you know EVERY detail about EVERY segment of the creature's DNA, there is no full-proof way to be sure that messing with one section won't negatively impact another. If the stingrays are being altered at conception, then all of their DNA will be copied with that same genetic code alteration, hence allowing strange mutations to arise. In other words, the meat could end up tasting like brocolli, or something else unexpected like that. There's really no way to be sure without understanding every detail about genetics (which we sure as heck don't).

Sorry. Randomness over. I'm a bit of a science nerd sometimes.

[Kanti]

Haha by all means, be a science nerd xD I think it's interesting to learn.
I'm a bio major too but I never really got into all that gene stuff, I really don't have any clue what
sort of stuff goes into it but what you said made sense to me. I assume it's pretty impossible to
know if NOTHING but the skin is affected. Especially since the appearance of skin usually isn't just
surface stuff. Who knows?
Maybe a pattern that has too much red will be harder than a pattern with lots of green? Maybe a yellow
pattern will cause the stingray to be more suseptible to sun damage since it's skin isn't normally that
color? Stuff like that I suppose I would imagine could happen.

[Mermaid Lorelei]

I remember doing laboratory tests on flies and we found some pretty strange results. Stuff like random extra appendages when we were trying to deal with a single protein in a completely unrelated gene. You just never know what might be affected.

[Prince Calypso]

wow i don't really like the idea of wearing one of my fave seas creature on my feet. nor do i like the idea of harvesting just for that purpose.
i could see if they were maybe doing medical work and trying to finds cures for something but for fashion?
and this coming from the mermaid who is fashion crazy and believes anything for beauty.

[Nemefish]

awwww poor stingrays GOD DAM HUMANS! >X(

[Kanti]

Well, Calypso, you can eat stingray meat, we just aren't sure if altering the genetic code affects the meat so
if it does maybe it wouldn't be that great anymore.

I just don't find the appeal of tacky colors in leather products. If I get leather I want it to look classy.

[Mermaid Rillia]

As far as I'm concerned, what I heard was that most of the things that we harvest for fashion dont get used completely. I dont agree with this stingray shoe one bit and find it completely rediculous. However if you're going to harvest something for it's skin, you might as well use the meat too. It just goes to show how humans will always feel the need to show that we see ourselves as better than nature. -_- I personally would never buy these or pay 1k dollars for any type of shoe. Just my thoughts though.

However a zebra stingray would be cool in my aquarium.

[Bellasea]

I colored stingray would be cool in an aquarium, I don't want a shoe from it. Like Calypso, I'm all for medical advances using animals. I want to go into marine biotechnology, so this is really cool that they can change a gene to make they stingray have cool patterns, but really? they could be trying to find a way to do something else. Not make shoes.

[Kanti]

Yea, it really seems like such a cool advance in science to be used on such a petty idea.
Anyone who's willing to pay $1k and wait a year or two or however long it takes to grow the
stingray needs a lesson on how to spend their money and perhaps get an ego check.

[malinghi]