FDA set to OK food from cloned animals

MrBrian · December 2006

By LIBBY QUAID, AP Food and Farm Writer
Wed Dec 27, 6:16 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Federal scientists have concluded there is no difference between food from cloned animals and food from conventional livestock, setting the stage for the government to declare Thursday that cloned animals are safe for the human food supply

Also, FDA believes that no special labels are needed for food from clones or their offspring, the scientists wrote. Consumer groups say labels are a must, because surveys have shown people to be uncomfortable with the idea of cloned livestock.

"Consumers are going to be having a product that has potential safety issues and has a whole load of ethical issues tied to it, without any labeling," said Joseph Mendelson, legal director of the Center for Food Safety.

Carol Tucker Foreman, director of food policy at the Consumer Federation of America, said the FDA is ignoring research that shows cloning results in more deaths and deformed animals than other reproductive technologies.

The consumer federation will ask food companies and supermarkets to refuse to sell food from clones, she said.

"Meat and milk from cloned animals have no benefit for consumers, and consumers don't want them in their foods," Foreman said.

The FDA scientists wrote that by the time clones reached 6 to 18 months of age, they were "virtually indistinguishable" from conventionally bred animals.
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"virtually indistinguishable".....Sounds tasty

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061227/ap_on_sc/cloned_food_4

brain of c · December 2006

send in the clones.

NMyTree · December 2006

Yeah, because the FDA has been soooooooooo thorough and reliable in the past:rolleyes:

Them saying the FDA has concluded that there is no difference and it's safe to eat cloned animals; is the equivelent of the Lyndhurst, New Jersey chapter of the Star Trek Fan Club saying it's safe.

For some reason, I don't believe it. Call me crazy.

miller8966 · December 2006

I personally would never touch cloned food...

MrBrian · December 2006

miller8966 wrote:

I personally would never touch cloned food...

Yeah, but they also don't want labels on it so you wont know if you are eating it or not. which is pretty scary.
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But I think that once it hits the market at a lower cost people won't care so much. anything to save a dollar.

angelica · December 2006

brain of c wrote:

send in the clones.

This is a horrific subject. That said, this comment made me laugh out loud!

chopitdown · December 2006

miller8966 wrote:

I personally would never touch cloned food...

is that because your clonophobic?

angelica · December 2006

MrBrian wrote:

Yeah, but they also don't want labels on it so you wont know if you are eating it or not. which is pretty scary.
-

But I think that once it hits the market at a lower cost people won't care so much. anything to save a dollar.

This is just very entirely altogether scary.

citizen_drew · December 2006

And I conitnue to become closer and closer to becoming a vegan.
I wonder how they feel about cloning soldiers...

gue_barium · December 2006

Why is it even necessary?
Seriously, you've got a cattle rancher in, say Montana, and he's gonna go to the expense of getting a blood sample, paying a lab to perform the DNA thing.... It makes no sense at all.

hippiemom · December 2006

gue_barium wrote:

Why is it even necessary?
Seriously, you've got a cattle rancher in, say Montana, and he's gonna go to the expense of getting a blood sample, paying a lab to perform the DNA thing.... It makes no sense at all.

There aren't a lot of independent cattle ranchers left, most are working for some huge corporation. You've seen what's happened with genetically modified plants ... corporations patent the genetic design and make it illegal for farmers to harvest their own seeds, or they modify the plants so they don't produce seeds at all. This forces the farmer to buy seeds from Monsanto or whichever other company every year. The corporations will make it economically attractive for the ranchers to initially start using cloned animals, just as they did with the seeds. The corporation will own the patent on the genetic design of those animals. It will be illegal to breed them, and when the technology is available, the clones will be sterile, forcing the ranchers to purchase animals every year, as they now have to do with seeds. Thus Monsanto, ConAgra, et al. will control our food supply.

That's scary enough, and I haven't even touched yet on the potential ramifications on the public health. I've read enough about how the FDA works to know I don't trust them as far as I could throw my car. They will not protect the public, we are going to have to make some noise about this.

PJfanFORlife · December 2006

Um I haven't read any of this thread so i apologize if this is off topic, but i WILL NEVER eat anything from cloned animals.

Thanks

man fucks around with nature to much. there has to be better altenatives

RavennaSeattle1911 · December 2006

the government created aids to kill us off i think-
cloned meat will lead to diesease i think

RavennaSeattle1911 · December 2006

http://www.tetrahedron.org/

http://www.amazon.com/Emerging-Viruses-Nature-Accident-Intentional/dp/0923550127

gue_barium · December 2006

hippiemom wrote:

There aren't a lot of independent cattle ranchers left, most are working for some huge corporation. You've seen what's happened with genetically modified plants ... corporations patent the genetic design and make it illegal for farmers to harvest their own seeds, or they modify the plants so they don't produce seeds at all. This forces the farmer to buy seeds from Monsanto or whichever other company every year. The corporations will make it economically attractive for the ranchers to initially start using cloned animals, just as they did with the seeds. The corporation will own the patent on the genetic design of those animals. It will be illegal to breed them, and when the technology is available, the clones will be sterile, forcing the ranchers to purchase animals every year, as they now have to do with seeds. Thus Monsanto, ConAgra, et al. will control our food supply.

That's scary enough, and I haven't even touched yet on the potential ramifications on the public health. I've read enough about how the FDA works to know I don't trust them as far as I could throw my car. They will not protect the public, we are going to have to make some noise about this.

I may have to copy and paste and make this a new post.

MrBrian · December 2006

The 678 page report

http://www.fda.gov/cvm/CloneRiskAssessment.htm

lukin2006 · December 2006

MrBrian wrote:

By LIBBY QUAID, AP Food and Farm Writer
Wed Dec 27, 6:16 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Federal scientists have concluded there is no difference between food from cloned animals and food from conventional livestock, setting the stage for the government to declare Thursday that cloned animals are safe for the human food supply

Also, FDA believes that no special labels are needed for food from clones or their offspring, the scientists wrote. Consumer groups say labels are a must, because surveys have shown people to be uncomfortable with the idea of cloned livestock.

"Consumers are going to be having a product that has potential safety issues and has a whole load of ethical issues tied to it, without any labeling," said Joseph Mendelson, legal director of the Center for Food Safety.

Carol Tucker Foreman, director of food policy at the Consumer Federation of America, said the FDA is ignoring research that shows cloning results in more deaths and deformed animals than other reproductive technologies.

The consumer federation will ask food companies and supermarkets to refuse to sell food from clones, she said.

"Meat and milk from cloned animals have no benefit for consumers, and consumers don't want them in their foods," Foreman said.

The FDA scientists wrote that by the time clones reached 6 to 18 months of age, they were "virtually indistinguishable" from conventionally bred animals.
----

"virtually indistinguishable".....Sounds tasty

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061227/ap_on_sc/cloned_food_4

As far as I'm concerned the only meat that should be sold is hormone and steroid free and fed with no animal by products, like that will ever after, the cattle farm lobby is just as powerful as the oil companies.

whitepants · December 2006

I have no intentions whatsoever to consume products from cloned animals. As it is, I have not eaten red meat or pork (basically any animal that walks on four legs) since 1994, and I don't miss it.

The FDA being so quick to announce that such food products will NOT be labelled as cloned is testament in itself that they want to bury this and hide potential hazards that consumption of these products will create.

it's all about money people... the government don't give a godamn about how and what we eat.

When girls as young as 9 start menstrating, and people on avg today are 30+ lbs heavier and 2 inches taller than their American counterparts of 40 years ago... we need to start looking at our current food supply, let alone consider consuming CLONED fucking food that the FDA gives an enthusiastic stamp of approval of before the first slab hits the meat counter at Kroger!

This is bullshit! I'm already a semi-vegetarian, I may have to go all Amish now!

even flow? · December 2006

miller8966 wrote:

I personally would never touch cloned food...

Isn't the FDA an arm of your beloved government? I thought they could do no wrong. :eek:

I think they should label the products and let the consumer have the decision to opt for what they want to buy. I don't buy into what Mr. Brian said as to price being a factor. Unless you are very poor and the prices are very low. After all this is the same FDA that allows your milk to have puss in it and say there is nothing wrong with it.

Hippiemom you hit the nail on the head. If they can produce seeds that have kept the world alive forever to kill themselves off. What are they going to be putting into the meat?

THC · December 2006

I like how they are going to make the decision for me in that I do not want it labeled as such.

hippiemom · December 2006

THC wrote:

I like how they are going to make the decision for me in that I do not want it labeled as such.

No big surprise there. Virtually ALL non-organic soy or corn products that you eat are genetically engineered, and they don't tell you that either. The FDA is staffed largely by former agribusiness executives, and that's who they work for.

FDA set to OK food from cloned animals

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