FDA approves cloned animals for human food

William Atkins
Thursday, 17 January 2008 07:10

Science - Health

After studying over 700 studies over a six-year period and with an in-depth analysis never before performed,  the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves the use of milk and organ or muscle tissue from cloned animals for food for humans.         

In its Tuesday, January 15, 2008 news report that finalized its conclusions, the FDA concluded on the technique of cloning: its meat and milk  is safe for food.

Besides the FDA in the United States, European scientists also made similar conclusions in a report they issued last week.

Coning is, generally, the process of creating an identical (duplicate) copy of something.

Specifically, it is the process called somatic cell nuclear transfer in which an egg cell is emptied out and the nucleus from a natural cell from the animal to be copied is put inside. At this point, the new cell is subjected to a chemical or electric charge that initiates the growth of the cell and its division, just like it would normally do if it had been fertilized by a sperm.

Dr. Jerome Baker, chief executive officer of the Federation of Animal Science Societies, stated, “This is one of the most rigorous food safety reviews ever conducted.” [Guardian]

Randall Lutter, an official with the FDA, stated at the news conference that announced the FDA’s results, said, “Meat and milk from clones of cattle, swine, and goats, and the offspring of clones from any species traditionally consumed as food, are as safe to eat as food from conventionally bred animals.” [AFP]

Dr. Stephen Sundlof, the chief of food safety for the FDA, stated, “We found nothing in the food that could potentially be hazardous. The food in every respect is indistinguishable from food from any other animal. It is beyond our imagination to even find a theory that would cause the food to be unsafe.” [AP]

Many animals have been cloned in the past. Tadpoles were first supposedly cloned in 1952, however, the cloning process that was used was not verifiable by other scientists. Eleven years later, the fish species called the carp was supposedly cloned by Chinese scientists. In the modern day technique, in 1996, sheep were cloned; and one year later, the famous “Dolly” the sheep was cloned by Scottish scientists. In the 2000s, rhesus monkeys, cattle, cats, mules, and horses have been cloned.