 approved the sale of cloned animals and their offspring for food, despite opposition from animal and consumer advocacy groups, environmental organizations, some members of Congress, and many consumers. Many major food producers say they won't use cloned animals in their products.)
In January 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the sale of cloned animals and their offspring for food, despite opposition from animal and consumer advocacy groups, environmental organizations, some members of Congress, and many consumers. Many major food producers say they won't use cloned animals in their products.
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Dear EarthTalk: What’s the story with animal cloning? Is the meat industry really cloning animals now to “beef up” production?
-- Frank DeFazio, Sudbury, MA
Cloning has been controversial ever since Scottish scientists announced in 1996 that they had cloned their first mammal, a sheep they named Dolly. While Dolly lived a painful, arthritic life and died prematurely, possibly due to the imperfections of cloning, industry nonetheless began seeking out ways to capitalize on the new technology. Meanwhile, critics bemoan cloning as immoral and a potential health and safety risk, given the as-yet-unknown consequences of eating foods generated in this way.
In January 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the sale of cloned animals and their offspring for food, despite fierce opposition from animal welfare and consumer advocacy groups, environmental organizations, some members of Congress, and many consumers.
“Our evaluation is that the food from cloned animals is as safe as the food we eat every day,” said Stephen Sundlof, the FDA’s chief of veterinary medicine. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has asked that producers withhold cloned animals, but not their offspring, from the food supply while farmers, processors, grocery stores and restaurants decide how they will respond to the FDA’s landmark decision.
Unsurprisingly, industry groups also argue that beef and milk from cloned animals is safe to consume. They cite a 2005 University of Connecticut study, which concluded that beef and milk from cloned cows did not pose any health or safety threats to people consuming it. But critics say that the oft-cited single study was far too limited to yield any meaningful conclusions: Milk and beef was taken from just six cloned animals, and the study did not take into account whether clones were more susceptible to infection or other microbial problems, as many scientists suspect. Other researchers have noted severe deformities in many cloned animals, as well as a higher incidence of reproductive, immune and other health problems.
The Washington, DC-based Center for Food Safety, in a petition it filed in late 2006, declared: “The available science shows that cloning presents serious food safety risks, animal welfare concerns and unresolved ethical issues that require strict oversight.” The group announced on September 2, 2008 that 20 leading U.S. food producers—including Kraft Foods, General Mills, Gerber/Nestle, Campbell’s Soup and Ben and Jerry’s—will not use cloned animals in their products. “The move by these companies represents a growing industry trend of responding to consumer demand for better food safety, environmental and animal welfare standards,” the group said in making the announcement.
Given the FDA’s green light, consumers’ only hope of avoiding cloned animal products may be to appeal to businesses directly not to peddle such items. The Pennsylvania-based American Anti-Vivisection Society, which opposes all forms of animal research and testing, has mounted a campaign to urge McDonald’s to forego cloned animals in its 30,000 restaurants worldwide.
CONTACTS: U.S. Food & Drug Administration, www.fda.gov; Center for Food Safety, www.centerforfoodsafety.org; American Anti-Vivisection Society, www.aavs.org.
GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.
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8 Comments
Add Commentin response, i am planning to open a new fast food chain with the name Dolly's where each menu item will be of a specific clone line and will have names and descriptions of the line as well as a picture,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI STILL SAY THE PUBLIC HAS THE RIGHT TO KNOW IF THEY ARE EATING AND DRINKING CLONED FOOD OR DRINK. IF IT IS SO SAFE WHY NOT LABEL THEY CLONED ITEMS. THEN LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE WEITHER THEY WANT TO EAT OR DRINK IT FOR THEM SELVES
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisB.NIELSON:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI still say people who write in all caps are nasty, ego-driven brats who should be censored in all forms of communication. When are you little drips going to stop irritating the adults?
t rasa:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt seems you are the juvenile one, needing Ritalin due to your inability to stay on topic.
Cloning poses serious possible health risks; unfortunately, this article was missing a specific action plan to either stop cloning or at least labelling.
Hello Paul N, you wrote that "Cloning poses serious possible health risks". What are they? I can't even think of one, but if you can come up with anything plausible I might agree with you.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt should also be noted that vegetarians can't avoid cloned food either (at least not unless they grow their own). Are you aware most of the fruit you eat and all of the potatoes you eat come from cloned plants? Or that wine is made from cloned grapes?
I TAKE CONSIDERABLE OFFENSE TO THAT T RASA
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI DONT SEE WHY WE HAVE TO CLONE ANIMALS. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE ? I CAN SEE SOMETHING VERY TERRIBLE COMING OUT OF THIS WHOLE "CLONING" THING.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisno way i didnt know that......... excuse me i think im gonna go starve myself be right back
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this