FDA Approves Sale Of Cloned Meat

Emily Lynch
2.4.08

The cloning process doesn’t genetically transform animals, it simply makes an exact photocopy. A controversy associated with this new process is the possibility that the meat derived from cloned animals could be harmful to humans.

The FDA recently approved the sale of cloned animal meat to consumers. The risk assessment taken by the FDA reassures there is nothing different between the cloned and the original animals, yet it is still undetermined whether there are any harmful long-term effects in consuming cloned animals.

“The process (of approving the sale and consumption of cloned animals) took so long because of all the research making sure it was okay for humans to eat,” University of Nebraska extension meat specialist Dennis Burson said. “It was also important to make sure it was okay for animals, since the animals would potentially enter the food chain someday for other animals.”

The cloning process is similar to creating identical twins. When cloning an animal, the genetic make up of the original animal has to be injected into another egg. This process claims to make no difference in the two animals, so the cloned meat wouldn’t taste any different or have any different side effects.

“I think if it still tastes like chicken I am sure as heck still going to eat cloned chicken,” junior Ally Crossman said.

The sale of cloned meat won’t take immediate effect because the cost of cloning is so high. People who have paid to have their well-built animal cloned will likely wait to sell it until they have gotten their full benefits from the animal.

“Right now this isn’t going to affect us because someone will pay a lot of money to have their vigorous animal cloned and won’t want to instantly place it into the food chain without letting it reproduce more,” University of Nebraska associate professor of animal science Brett White said.

In the future most people won’t be able to recognize the cloned meat in the grocery store because, as of right now, the FDA is not planning to distinguish the meat as cloned meat. Not knowing that meat is cloned has the potential to bother some students.

“I wouldn’t eat the cloned meat because it’s not the original thing so I think that it would have harmful ingredients in it,” sophomore Robin Marsalla said.

Time will tell if the meat is truly okay to eat. The choice to consume the meat is going to be up to the consumers and their ethical beliefs.

photo by Emily Lynch