Cloned Meat And Milk to be Approved

This week the FDA is expected to declare that meat and milk from cloned animals and their offspring poses no public health threat. Currently there is a "voluntary moratorium" on cloned meat, and the FDA is going to lift it and open the doors for public sale.

Interestingly, it appears to be timed to circumvent a Senate version of the farm bill requiring additional safety tests on cloned products before ending the moratorium. So although the elected congress of the people want more testing, the FDA appears to be pushing it through.

Animal cloning is a controversial technology with few, if any, benefits to consumers, according to Margaret Mellon, director of the Food and Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). Most cloned animals have severe defects and are more likely to die at an early age than ordinary farm animals. Although successful clones may appear normal, she said, the possibility remains that some may harbor subtle genetic defects that could impair their health or render them unsafe for consumption.

And probably worst of all: there is no provision, plan or no thinking as to labeling. What that means is that once cloned food is released for consumption, the consumer will be unable to identify what he's eating. Meat will just be meat... cloned or not. Besides removing our personal freedom to choose, there will be no way to track health issues that may arise.

The FDA should require that cloned products be labeled as such and keep them off the market at least until it establishes a mandatory tracking system to allow retailers to avoid purchasing the products.