Cloned Animals for Food

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In the US, the FDA is about to approve the use of cloned animals for food.You can find the whole story here : http://cornucopia.org/index.php/202What is your opinion about this?If you don't like the idea, you have until April 2, 2007 to let the FDA know what you think about it. Follow the URL and it will tell you how.

Each to their ownIf people want to eat Frankenstein food it's up to themI just hope it's clearly labeled as such and be a choiceGlad I'm a vegen

What is wrong with eating cloned animals (as opposed to genetically engineered animals)? A clone is like a twin that's born at a different time than his brother.Even if you're a careful vegan, you're probably consuming some genetically modified crops.

Even if you're a careful vegan, you're probably consuming some genetically modified crops. [/quote]Good point and regrettably all too trueIn Australia, produce only has to carry a GM label if it contains over 2% of the said technology.Potentially in keeping with a blood transfusion containing no more than 2% HIV tainted product.Who knows down the road?

yum yum.

Solution: grow it yourself. Live in an apartment and don't have room? Live in the country, or reorganize society. As it is, livestock raised in massive numbers put a lot of stress on the environment, especially the way it's done in the U.S., and the resulting pollution is not good for people or other animals, so you are already a big part of the solution by not eating animal products. There are ways to raise livestock that are less stressful on the environment, and on the animals themselves, though.

It comes down to values, motivation, and politics. I don't know how many people care about their food supply.

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Each to their own
If people want to eat Frankenstein food it's up to them
I just hope it's clearly labeled as such and be a choice

The FDA does not plan on labeling what meat is from cloned animals and what is not.

Quote:What is wrong with eating cloned animals (as opposed to genetically engineered animals)? A clone is like a twin that's born at a different time than his brother.I honestly don't like the idea of eating genetically engineered animals either. With all the hormones and chemicals that they use to create them, who knows what the long term effects are once we consume this meat and put it into our bodies. And even if a person dies off without seeing any affects of this genetically engineered meat that's being consumed... Could our children be affected by it? Or maybe our children's children?A clone is made by use of several more chemicals in the birth on top of the altering of genetics, growth hormones, etc. Not only that, the majority of clone attempts prove to be disastrous for both the offspring and the mother.As I pointed out to Buzzie69, they don't plan on labeling anything. So if they go ahead with this, it's not like we have a choice as to whether we eat cloned meat or not. Not to mention 9 out of 10 consumers have no idea what is going on at the moment.If you want to eat cloned meat, then be my guest. It's those that don't want to eat cloned meat and have no idea of what's going on that concerns me.

they don't plan on labeling anything.Because, as I said, people don't seem to care. If they did, the political hacks who were appointed to run the FDA would respond.I'm not sure what chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics are would be used in cloned animals that aren't already used in non-cloned animal. Some biologists think that the heavy use of antibiotics in animal feed has played a large role in the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In terms of human health, that's a much larger problem than animal cloning.

Cloning is dependent on the heavy use of artificial hormones to accelerate the reproductive process and to induce labor in the mother. What kinds? I'm not sure either.According to many of the studies done on the living animal clones, it seems a large majority of them suffer from different health ailments. Remember the famous cloned sheep Dolly? She died from arthritis and lung cancer. Just one of many animals that have suffered from the cloning experiment.You're right about anti-biotic resistant bacteria being a problem. Who knows what they're introducing to us next in this next "big step" for "better" and more food.

I don't see why you'd have to induce labor when a mother is going to give birth to a cloned offspring, any more than they would for any other birth, and I don't see how the hormones given to the mother to get the pregnancy under way would adversely affect human health.A much bigger problem (for human health) is the diet that livestock are fed in the U.S. Cattle, for instance, have evolved to eat grass, not corn. A diet of corn makes them sick, so they have to be fed antibiotics to maintain yield. We then ingest the residual antibiotics, and we already have way to many corn-containing products in our diet.Hormones are also given to cows to increase milk yield. That is also a big problem.I agree that cloning is not very good for animal health, since things often go wrong in the process, but I'm expect that those problems will be worked out. A downside of cloning is a reduction in genetic variety. If an animal is genetically vulnerable to some illness, then a lot of animal might also be at risk.As far as Dolly is concerned, I'm not sure what the normal lifespan of a sheep is versus how long she lived. If an animal dies of natural causes, it has to be from something. In humans, cancer is inevitable; you just have to live long enough, and you will get it.

Do you think it would taste different? I heard P.E.T.A got involved in this. L'ecole de Serge, in 2005, was experimenting with this -- never heard of it anymore.

Quote:In the US, the FDA is about to approve the use of cloned animals for food. that is THE most fucked up thing i have ever heard.

Quote:Do you think it would taste different?You would be surprised. Have you ever eaten a cherry tomatoe or other vegetable out of a garden that was grown without pesticides, herbicides, or artificial soil? Compared to the veggies you can get off of the store shelves, it's awesome!As for cloned animals... I don't know. I suppose it would depend on what they feed them. Like Steve_A mentioned, cows are fed corn all their lives instead of grazing on grass. I'm sure if you ate a steak from a cow that grazed on corn all their lives and then at a steak from a cow that grazed on grass all their lives you would notice a huge difference.

Regarding Dolly, she was 6 years old... The same kind of sheep generally live from 11 to 16 years of age. She's only one example though. I'm sure the Center for Food Safety has more information on the matter... but their studies do not prove positive toward this move.I wish I knew more about the cloning process. I suppose they are starting to implant adult somatic cells into a chosen surrogate to-be-mother and then pumping chemicals into her in order for her body to recognize that she is pregnant. Then, when it is time for birth, they must induce labor.

I think clones in the food chain is unlikely in the near future. What does it cost to produce a clone vs. the cost of having a cow birth a plain old-fashioned calf?And I gotta say, we're not running short on cows

I believe the goal is to produce bigger cows that also produce more milk... according to this article from Jan10, 2007, Britain has already started "Clone Farming"http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/ar...e&icc=NEWS&ct=5

Why yes I did. You can easily spot the difference -- organic is quite better. My parents started growing their own vegetables now; seeds from which my grandparents send. But do you think, if the cloned and "original" cow, were fed the same thing still taste the same? Britain also created a genetically modified chicken that lays eggs which fight cancer. Biology is neat, eh?

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Britain also created a genetically modified chicken that lays eggs which fight cancer. Biology is neat, eh?

That's very interesting. What kind of cancer?

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But do you think, if the cloned and "original" cow, were fed the same thing still taste the same?

I suppose it would. That's just my guess.

I'm not quite sure.But here is the article about it.Quote: Some of the birds have been engineered to lay eggs that contain miR24, a type of antibody with potential for treating malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer. Others produce human interferon b-1a, which can be used to stop viruses replicating in cells.