Business | Investment
Knowing what's being dished up
While the FDA spent seven years evaluating the safety of cloned products, I am not sure if its assurance should be taken at face value. But neither am I convinced that the food safety and animal rights groups are correct.
- By Cleofe Maceda, Staff Writer
- Published: 01:39 February 2, 2008
When Dolly, the first cloned sheep, came to life, the world was stunned. Not many would have thought years ago that man would be able to defy nature and bring another being to life through a laboratory.
Dolly's birth was a testament that, with cutting-edge technology, almost anything is possible. But has it gone too far?
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently concluded that milk and meat from cloned animals and their offspring are fit for consumption. Translation - the livestock industry could be shipping these items in the coming months to various supermarkets in the US and eventually, the rest of the world. And even if you don't want them, they could likely end up on your table. The reason? There is no law that requires labels on meat or milk stating the source was a clone.
The European Union (EU), for its part, has no definite stand on the issue. While the European Food Safety Authority says cloned food appears safe to eat, the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies warns Europeans of the dangers. Britain and Germany are reportedly pushing for the sale of cloned products, while London confirms it has imported a cloned offspring.
And yet there's a more daunting question. Is it likely that milk and meat from clones have already leaked into the human food chain? Reports have it that one farmer in the US admitted to openly selling semen from prize-winning clones to American meat producers.
Worry
Now, that's a cause for worry to food safety and animal rights groups. They say animals conceived in laboratories are sickly, as they are born with deformities and birth defects. They are often treated with antibiotics. Some even die young, while those that survive have weak immune systems.
While the FDA spent seven years evaluating the safety of cloned products, I am not sure if its assurance should be taken at face value. But neither am I convinced that the food safety and animal rights groups are correct. The fact is: there is no absolute proof to substantiate the dissenting claims.
Regardless of whether or not cloned products are safe to eat, it is up to consumers to decide. After all, consumers have an inalienable right to choose which truths they want to believe.
Whether they do or do not want cloned stuff in the market, they have a decision to make. So, any dairy product or meat from a cloned animal, should they ever enter our supermarkets, should be labelled as such.
Besides, just because science makes it possible to make a steak from a cloned animal, that doesn't mean everything is foolproof. Remember Dolly? She didn't last long. She was euthanised after she developed some illness.
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