Cloned Food: An Update on the "Progress"
and What You Need to Know
by www.SixWise.com
The food industry is ready to put meat and milk from cloned
animals onto your dinner table, but whether or not they'll
get the chance is hinging on a final decision on the safety
of cloned food by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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It will be awhile longer before meat and milk from
cloned animals reaches your dinner table.
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At the end of December 2006, the
FDA issued preliminary approval, stating that meat and
milk from cloned animals or their offspring were virtually
identical to food from conventional sources.
A 90-day public comment session followed, but it looked like
cloned foods could appear in your supermarket in 2008.
Now that 2008 is upon us, it seems those opposed to cloned
food have been given a reprieve: an amendment to the 2007
farm bill would require the FDA to further study the safety
of cloned food before it reaches your dinner plate.
As it stands, the Senate has passed the amendment, but no
such provision is included in the House version. This means
that the amendment could be thrown out, or, more likely, a
compromise could be reached in early 2008. If passed:
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The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) will arrange a
panel of scientists to review the FDA's initial decision
on the safety of cloned food (which some say was based
on flawed science).
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The NAS would be required to study the health impacts
cloned foods could have on the U.S. food supply, including
reduced milk consumption if consumers choose to avoid
food from cloned animals.
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The United States Department of Agriculture would have
to examine consumer attitudes about cloned foods, along
with their impacts on domestic and international markets.
Currently, 50 percent of U.S. consumes view cloning as unfavorable,
according to a survey by the International Food Information
Council. Meanwhile, 89 percent of Americans say they want
food from cloned animals to be labeled, a survey by the Consumers
Union found.
How Does Cloning Work?
Most cloning is done using a process called somatic cell
nuclear transfer (SCNT). During this process, an egg from
a female animal is obtained (often from ovaries in a slaughterhouse,
according to the FDA) and the gene-containing nucleus is taken
out. In its place, genetic material from a "donor"
(that has desirable traits) is inserted and the resulting
embryo is "coaxed" to fuse and start dividing. The
embryo is then implanted into the uterus of a surrogate, which
carries it to term and delivers it like any other offspring.
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"Clones are biological copies of animals," says
Larisa Rudenko, Ph.D., a molecular biologist and senior adviser
for biotechnology at the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine.
"They're similar to identical twins, but born at different
times."
While proponents state that cloned meat and milk will provide
consumers with a better product at a cheaper price, those
opposed fear there may be undiscovered safety risks, and note
that many object on moral grounds.
One safety issue that has already been raised has to do with
drug residues. Since cloned animals are more likely to have
genetic abnormalities, they may be given drugs that make the
resulting food less healthy.
At the very least, consumer groups are pulling for food from
cloned animals to be labeled as such, so people can make an
informed decision.
"Before we allow cloned animals into our food supply,
we must know more about it. When something is this new, unclear
and uncertain, we need to be sure," said Senator Barbara
Mikulski, one of the senators who advanced the farm bill amendment.
"Just because something has been created in a lab, doesn't
mean we should have to eat it," she continued. "If
we discover a problem with cloned food after it is in our
food supply and it's not labeled, the FDA won't be able to
recall it like they did Vioxx -- the food will already be
tainted. We have been down this road before with product safety
-- the FDA has a credibility crisis."
What Happens Next?
The Senate and House Agriculture Committees will meet to
decide on the final farm bill in early 2008, and it's likely
that it will be some time before cloned food products actually
reach the market.
Said Chris Waldrop, director of the Food Policy Institute
of the Consumer Federation of America in Wired, "It would
be very surprising if the FDA flouted the will of Congress
and moved forward on the cloning issue."
Recommended Reading
The
FDA Says Cloned Milk & Meat are A-Ok ... How Soon Before
You'll be Eating It (Without Knowing It)?
What
is REALLY in a Hot Dog? And How Unhealthy Are They?
Sources
FoodNavigator-USA.com
December 17, 2007
Wired.com
December 19, 2007
U.S.
FDA: Animal Cloning and Food Safety