As to whether this is technological progress or a sign that the market is demanding a radical intervention in our food-production system depends on your views of how a cow becomes a steak. Regardless, knowing more about what you eat is never a negative, particularly if it serves to improve food safety or help track the source of a bacterial outbreak faster.
Still the idea that genetic markers could replace breed names as a signifier of quality is a little bit jarring. Imagine a future where you point your cell phone at a bar code on a shrink-wrapped package of hamburger and discover that not only did your cow live on a farm in Montana but it also had blue eyes. In some respects, that's closer to the world wherein you once knew the name of the Kansas farmer who fed 128 people and you, rather than just driving by his wooden sign on Interstate 70.
Would you want to know the DNA of your burger?
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