So the FDA has just recently approved the use of consumption of cloned meat. Would you eat cloned meat? I'm not sure myself. I might on a dare but don't really want to. Who knows what really goes into these guys. Then again, I'm not even sure if all our produce are not genetically modified in some way or another.
Is it me or I think the FDA is wrong in saying that you don't need to attach 'special labels' to let the consumer know the product is a cloned or not? Heck, give me the choice to decide!
If only organic produce were a bit more cheaper..............................
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[/FONT][/SPAN][SPAN class=storyheading3][FONT size=5][FONT color=#bf5f00]Cloned meat safe to eat, FDA to say[/FONT]
[/FONT][/SPAN][SPAN class=storydeck3]Opponents cite medical, ethical issues[/SPAN]
[FONT size=1][SPAN class=author]By LIBBY QUAID
[/SPAN]Associated Press[/FONT]
WASHINGTON - Federal scientists have concluded there is no difference between food from cloned animals and food from conventional livestock, setting the stage for the government to declare today that cloned animals are safe for the human food supply.
The Food and Drug Administration planned to brief industry groups in advance of an announcement. The agency indicated it would approve cloned livestock in a scientific journal article published online earlier this month.
The agency "concludes that meat and milk from clones and their progeny is as safe to eat as corresponding products derived from animals produced using contemporary agricultural practices," FDA scientists Larisa Rudenko and John Matheson wrote in the Jan. 1 issue of Theriogenology.
Also, [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffbf"]FDA believes that no special labels are needed for food from clones or their offspring, the scientists wrote.[/FONT] Consumer groups say labels are a must, because surveys have shown people to be uncomfortable with the idea of cloned livestock.
"Consumers are going to be having a product that has potential safety issues and has a whole load of ethical issues tied to it, without any labeling," said Joseph Mendelson, legal director of the Center for Food Safety.
Carol Tucker Foreman, director of food policy at the Consumer Federation of America, said the FDA is ignoring research that shows cloning results in more deaths and deformed animals than other reproductive technologies.
The consumer federation will ask food companies and supermarkets to refuse to sell food from clones, she said.
"Meat and milk from cloned animals have no benefit for consumers, and consumers don't want them in their foods," Foreman said.
The FDA scientists wrote that by the time clones reached 6 to 18 months of age, they were "virtually indistinguishable" from conventionally bred animals.
Final approval of cloned animals for food is months away; the FDA will accept comments from the public after issuing a risk assessment today.
Those in favor of the technology say it would be used primarily for breeding and not for steak or pork tenderloin.
Cloning lets farmers and ranchers make copies of exceptional animals, such as pigs that fatten rapidly or cows that are superior milk producers.
"We clone an animal because we want a genetic twin of that animal," said Barb Glenn of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.
"It's not a genetically engineered animal; no genes have been changed or moved or deleted," she said.
Thus, consumers would mostly get food from their offspring and not the clones themselves, Glenn said.
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