Food and Cloning?

Question

I just read this article about cloned food arriving in our supermarkets next year. Is cloning really safe? Any thoughts on that? Is there going to be any type of labels letting the customer know he/she is buying cloned food? (Probably not because the majority of people may go for the non-cloned food, I know I won't try the cloned food)

Answer 1

Yeah I was watching that also. I think that is totally wrong and if they do it then they should label it as cloned meat. The government is not going to use us as their guinea pigs. That is just wrong to feed people cloned meat.

Answer 2

Please define what 'safe' refers to. For humans, after 5 years of extensive FDA research, cloned meat consumption is safe for humans. For the animal, cloning isn't harmful to the 'parent,' but cloned animals may develop physical abnormalities. Such abnormalities, while safe for human consumption (come on, it's still a cow!), may be discarded by the cow manufacturer. Any biochemical/metabolic abnormalities will probably result in a cloned cow's death. However, if cloned meat becomes economically mainstream, then improvements are likely to improve product manufacturing. Cloning animals is, by definition, different than genetically altered animals. However, in the process of cloning, scientists and ranchers may decide to genetically alter animals, but I believe that also requires a totally different FDA approval process.

As for labeling, it is still up for debate. Since the nutritional value is exactly the same (thus, a clone), there are no health reasons why there should be labelling. However, because cloning is a touchy ethical issue, then consumers may insist that some sort of labeling be required. (Then again, that may imply to consumers that the cloned meat is somehow different than the original though it isn't. The production of the meat is different.)

As for veggies and fruits, yes, we've been eating clones for a long, long time. (See source below).

As for comments on the government... The government has no right to force us to eat cloned meat and we are not government guinea pigs in a large scale experiment. GROW UP PEOPLE! Cloned meat products come will come from farms with lots of technology.

Also, for the comment on irradiated foods, irradiated foods do NOT cause people to induce harmful radiated molecules.

If you really have a problem with cloned foods, please justify why (like, to you it may be unethical). As for me (following the FDA's decision that a genetically-altered tomato is a tomato), 'a cow is a cow.'

Answer 3

well, mankind has been committing "genetic modification" for years on cattle, swine and poultry to produce healthier, disease resistant, higher protein, lower fat meat by the process of selective breeding. cloning basically makes an exact copy of an animal, down to the last chromosome, that has been bred to a certain standard. As long as the animal being cloned is a healthy, disease free animal, the cloned meat should be as good as the original for consumption.

cloned meat is not the equivalent of, for instance, irradiated meat (meat which has been subjected to a certain level of radiation thought to kill bacteria) or genetically modified fruit or vegetables (plants that are genetically modified to include pesticide or herbicide genetic codes to ward off insects or invasive weeds). These processes render the food product either radioactive (though at very very low levels) and/or carriers of unnatural chemical compounds, instead of carbon copies of original animals or plants.

All in all, i do believe the cloned meat should be labeled, if only for the purpose of informing the public. we all should be allowed to make an informed decision about the foods we consume. If the market has less demand for a particular product, in theory that should drive the supply. If fewer people buy the cloned meat than the original, perhaps the cost of producing it vs the profits the farmers/ranchers receive will prohibit further sales of cloned meat.

Answer 4

Sorry buddy but if you have eaten any corn based product (like doritos or foods fried in corn oil) then you have likely eaten so much genetically altered (cloned) food that if cloned food were dangerous you would have already seen signs of that new arm growing in where your penis used to be. Seriouslgy though something like 70% of all food that we eat is cloned or genetically modified in some way. All the new noise is just about animals being cloned directly before being shipped to your dinner plate in addition to feeding wilbur (the pig) the cloned food that we have all been eating for decades.....So yes its safe (at least to our bodies because we have no idea what cloning these animals may do to future generations of the animals themselves) And unless you own a time-machine and some kind of science-killing device you can't avoid the food.

Answer 5

I am sorry but there IS a difference between cloned meat and genetically altered food. There's no doubt that we're eating alot of crap...by the way additives and whatnot used on our foods and meats. But cloning....that's different territory and at the very least, people should be given a choice as to whether or not they want to consume that meat. They need to put labels on whatever products are cloned.

As consumers, we should have a choice and just throwing this meat in with those from a "real" cow and passing it off as "virtually the same" is just not acceptable.

And for those of you with this undying, unfaltering faith in the FDA.....more power to ya, but I ain't buying it.

Answer 6

The fact of cloning livestock for food is scary and I think there's still quite a lot to learn about it. I think sticking with normal 100% Origanal Meat is better. Look what is in some of the food we eat like genectically altered veggies, and the preservatives in stuff is total bull ! Our government is killing us with the food with all the crap that's in it were all gonna die off. Down With Cloned Foods
Only 100% Origanal Stuff it's like what the heck....

Answer 7

The cloned food would be EXACTLY the same as the food it was cloned from, except for the fact that it was cloned of course.

Answer 8

We'll probably be eating cloned veggies and not know about it, but the USDA should advise us if we're going to be eating cloned cows.

Answer 9

its not really cloning, its more genetic modification. and if it's approved for consumer consumption then its absolutely safe. they dont approve it if it would be harmful in any way.

try doing some research on it before you judge it. its perfectly safe.

Answer 10

Don't eat cow's meat it will give you mad cow disease, cloned chicken will give you bird flu and so on and so forth