“The End of Food” – is titled so appropriately in Thomas F. Pawlick’s 2006 expose of the state of our food supply (morbid but true). Enter – BGHs, GMOs, pesticides, synthetic chemicals, food additives, artificial colour, antibiotics, nitrates/nitrites, sulfites, refined, heavily processed, high fructose corn syrup-ed “food” (and the list goes on and on and on….) – is anything we are eating today truly “edible”?
Well on top of an already ridiculous amount of yummy chemicals and bio-engineered selections…let’s add animal clones to the mix!
Animal Cloning: Using Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT), the genes of a genetically superior “donor” animal are inserted into an egg cell which has had its own nucleus removed. This new egg cell is then implanted into a surrogate where it will develop. This was how Dolly circa 1996, the first ever cloned animal, entered into existence. Technically speaking then, a clone is a genetically identical copy of the donor animal, its identical twin, simply just born at a different time.
Given the high price point of cloned animals obviously scientists aren’t doing this just for a jolly good time. Cloning is done based on the assumption that cloned animals will produce higher quality and greater yield of products (e.g. dairy) and make for higher quality meat. In January 2008, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) lifted a voluntary moratorium allowing cloned products and clone offspring to enter into the market. FDA claims that cloned cows, swine, goats, their offspring and their products are safe for human consumption. According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, approximately 600 cloned cattle, pigs, and goat were present in the United States in 2008. Today, it is highly likely that the offspring of these cloned animals and their cloned products have already entered into the U.S food supply.
What is the problem? Like with many other products, cloned animal, cloned animal offspring, and clone products do not have to be labelled. Public backlash, evident from the Consumers Union poll in 2007, found that 89% of Americans want cloned products to be labelled, and 69% of consumers were concerned about the safety of consuming cloned animals and their products. FDA however suggests that there is no need to labelling because clones are genetically identical to donor animals, hence there is no difference in food composition. Why label something that is indistinguishable? Theoretically this sounds fine and dandy (although morally and ethically troubling)…a “star” animal being replicated and replicated and replicated. What could go wrong?
The Centre for Food Safety sure thinks that there is something wrong!! According to CFS, FDA’s approval of cloned products “without mandating further study is clearly arbitrary, capricious, and irresponsible.” Here are some troubling facts of FDA’s approval (to read the full CFS report, click here):
- FDA’s own reports show evidence that clones are not identical “twins” to their “parents” but differ significantly!
- Several defects have been found in clones that have NEVER before been seen in normal animals!
- FDA approval of clone, their offspring, and products were approved with very little to no data whatsoever. Only one toxicology study was looked at which examined 20 rats who ate cloned meat and milk products for 14 weeks. The largest study reviewed tested milk from 15 cloned cattle, which showed that cloned milk was significantly different in composition.
- FDA did not do its due diligence by conducting its own studies, but gathered information from 10 small studies conducted for the most part by cloning companies
Other issues with cloned animals include (but are not limited to):
- Animal Rights: Host mothers suffer from high rates of spontaneous abortions, “large-offspring syndrome”, stressful caesarean deliveries, and death during pregnancy
- Antibiotic and hormones are used abundantly in cloning. Hormones for host moms and antibiotics for sickly clones.
- Clones may appear normal at birth, but health problems can occur later in life. More research is definitely needed!
Luckily according to Canadian Law, selling cloned products are prohibited. BUT, since cloned products are not labelled in the US, it is possible that cloned animals and/or animal products could enter into Canada as breeding stock, or as meat and dairy (e.g. in the form of pastries, milk chocolate, ice cream, etc.). The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is anticipating that cloned products may appear in the Canadian market in the future, and if approved, Heath Canada will likely also not require any special labelling.
Not knowing what’s in my food really freaks me out!! Cloned food doesn’t seem to bother some people though…I’m interested in hearing your thoughts and opinions. Are clones/clone offspring/clone products “edible” to you?
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