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Food Safety: Cloning Animals for Food
The technology for cloning has come far, but are we going to an extreme by cloning animals for food consumption? As with all issues, there are two sides making their case. The conclusion of the first report produced by National Academy of Sciences, August 2002, was interpreted as both for and against cloning animals for the consumption of food. There have been subsequent studies done and the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) has approved food products from cattle, swine and goat clones or the offspring of any animal clones to enter into the human food supply. As a consumer, it is your responsibility to make the decision to support or not support animal cloning for food.
Cloning (biological copying) uses a process referred to as somatic cell nuclear transfer. An unfertilized egg is extracted; the gene-containing nucleus is removed and replaced with a nucleus from an adult cell of the animal to be cloned. An electric current is used to start the division of cells, an embryo starts to form and is then put into the uterus of the surrogate female animal, which will raise the offspring as her own. "Clones are genetic copies of an animal," says Larisa Rudenko, Ph.D., a Molecular Biologist and Senior Adviser for biotechnology in Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM). "They're similar to identical twins, but born at different times"(Animal).
Ranchers and farmers want to impregnate as many females as possible. Traditional mating is not an efficient method of breeding; the female and/or male can be injured and some females refuse to be bred. Livestock productions in the U.S. regularly use assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Artificial insemination, first recorded in the 14 century, embryo transfer, successful in 1951 and in vitro fertilization successful in 1959 (CloneSafety.org).
Farmers and ranchers use these methods not only to increase the reproduction rate, but to choose traits of their best animals both male and females to increase the odds of these traits being passed down to the offspring. The goal is to improve the herd with animals that consistently produce a higher quality of meat or dairy products. Farmers and ranchers main reason for making clones is to produce a better quality of breeding stock, not to use these animals for food. Cloning accelerates the timeline for improving the herd with the healthiest and most productive livestock. “At the moment, clones are rare animals. The Post indicates that there are 570 cloned cattle in the U.S., with 30 bovine offspring; there are 24 cloned dairy cows, and 5 pigs. It would be many years before farmers would consider slaughtering or milking clones themselves—their near-term value lies in cloning hearty animals for breeding purposes”(CloneSafety.org).
Reducing the genetic diversity of the herd could create a possibility of producing disease susceptible animals. This could leave livestock herds vulnerable to epidemic disease. One of the world’s leading cloning scientists, Dr. Rudolph Jaenisch of MIT, has stated that “clones are always defective to some degree”. “You can not make normal clones. The ones that survive will just be less abnormal than the ones that die early”, Dr. Jaenisch has said (Cloned). Complications that occur in animals from natural mating or ART also occur in cloning, but at a higher rate. Although clones have more health problems at birth, if the clone survives a few days, the clones are just as healthy as other animals of the same age. Cloning attempts fail at a rate of 90% and can create animals that are subject to suffering and birth defects.
Since the main use of clones is to produce better quality breeding stock, not food, these clones are used for conventional breeding, and the sexually reproduced offspring of the animal clones become the food-producing animals. The FDA’s report, Risk Assessment concludes that cloning poses no unique risks to animal health, compared to the risks found with ART or natural mating and the composition of food products from cattle, swine and goat clones, or the progeny of animal clones is no different from that of conventionally bred animals. (Risk) FDA Scientists have looked at the blood of clones and found it to be perfectly healthy just like conventional animals (CloneSafety.org).
Although milk and meat from cloned animals or their progeny cannot be distinguished from milk and meat of conventionally bred animals, there are significant differences in how the foods are produced. Health problems of clones, especially those who appear to be healthy but have concealed illnesses or problems that appear later in life, have the potential to cause safety issues with the food products that those cloned animals produce. The Center for Food Safety is opposed to cloning animals in the food production. (Mendelson) Food safety is not the only issue that concerns the general public, as well as the ethical and moral aspects of cloning and fear for the welfare of the animals.
More research has been done on cloning animals for food. Stephen F. Sundlof, D.V.M., Ph.D., Director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition says, “Our additional review only serves to strengthen our conclusions on food safety. Meat and milk from cow, pig and goat clones, and the offspring of any animal clones, are as safe as the food we consume every day” (Animal). However, is it safe or unsafe to eat meat and dairy products from cloned animals and their progeny? It is up to each individual to make an educated assessment on this issue of cloning animals for food consumption by evaluating the information and coming to a conclusion, either for or against. Or has the FDA made that decision for the United Sates already, by allowing the meat and dairy products of the offspring of clones into the grocery store with out being labeled?
Works Cited
"Animal Cloning and Food Safety." U S Food and Drug Administration Home Page. Web. 26 July 2009. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm148768.htm.
"Cloned Food - Feb 2007 alert." Welcome to Generation Green. Web. 26 July 2009. http://www.generationgreen.org/Action_Alert.htm.
CloneSafety.org. 24 July 2009 http://www.clonesafety.org/.
Mendelson III, Joseph. "Cloned Animals Should Not Be Used for Food." Opposing Viewpoints: Genetic Engineering. Ed. David M. Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Linn Benton Community College. 26 July 2009 http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.libweb.linnbenton.edu:2048/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010138279&source=gale&userGroupName=linnben&version=1.0.
"Risk Management Plan." U S Food and Drug Administration Home Page. 24 July 2009 <http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/AnimalCloning/ucm055490.htm>.
Cloning (biological copying) uses a process referred to as somatic cell nuclear transfer. An unfertilized egg is extracted; the gene-containing nucleus is removed and replaced with a nucleus from an adult cell of the animal to be cloned. An electric current is used to start the division of cells, an embryo starts to form and is then put into the uterus of the surrogate female animal, which will raise the offspring as her own. "Clones are genetic copies of an animal," says Larisa Rudenko, Ph.D., a Molecular Biologist and Senior Adviser for biotechnology in Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM). "They're similar to identical twins, but born at different times"(Animal).
Ranchers and farmers want to impregnate as many females as possible. Traditional mating is not an efficient method of breeding; the female and/or male can be injured and some females refuse to be bred. Livestock productions in the U.S. regularly use assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Artificial insemination, first recorded in the 14 century, embryo transfer, successful in 1951 and in vitro fertilization successful in 1959 (CloneSafety.org).
Farmers and ranchers use these methods not only to increase the reproduction rate, but to choose traits of their best animals both male and females to increase the odds of these traits being passed down to the offspring. The goal is to improve the herd with animals that consistently produce a higher quality of meat or dairy products. Farmers and ranchers main reason for making clones is to produce a better quality of breeding stock, not to use these animals for food. Cloning accelerates the timeline for improving the herd with the healthiest and most productive livestock. “At the moment, clones are rare animals. The Post indicates that there are 570 cloned cattle in the U.S., with 30 bovine offspring; there are 24 cloned dairy cows, and 5 pigs. It would be many years before farmers would consider slaughtering or milking clones themselves—their near-term value lies in cloning hearty animals for breeding purposes”(CloneSafety.org).
Reducing the genetic diversity of the herd could create a possibility of producing disease susceptible animals. This could leave livestock herds vulnerable to epidemic disease. One of the world’s leading cloning scientists, Dr. Rudolph Jaenisch of MIT, has stated that “clones are always defective to some degree”. “You can not make normal clones. The ones that survive will just be less abnormal than the ones that die early”, Dr. Jaenisch has said (Cloned). Complications that occur in animals from natural mating or ART also occur in cloning, but at a higher rate. Although clones have more health problems at birth, if the clone survives a few days, the clones are just as healthy as other animals of the same age. Cloning attempts fail at a rate of 90% and can create animals that are subject to suffering and birth defects.
Since the main use of clones is to produce better quality breeding stock, not food, these clones are used for conventional breeding, and the sexually reproduced offspring of the animal clones become the food-producing animals. The FDA’s report, Risk Assessment concludes that cloning poses no unique risks to animal health, compared to the risks found with ART or natural mating and the composition of food products from cattle, swine and goat clones, or the progeny of animal clones is no different from that of conventionally bred animals. (Risk) FDA Scientists have looked at the blood of clones and found it to be perfectly healthy just like conventional animals (CloneSafety.org).
Although milk and meat from cloned animals or their progeny cannot be distinguished from milk and meat of conventionally bred animals, there are significant differences in how the foods are produced. Health problems of clones, especially those who appear to be healthy but have concealed illnesses or problems that appear later in life, have the potential to cause safety issues with the food products that those cloned animals produce. The Center for Food Safety is opposed to cloning animals in the food production. (Mendelson) Food safety is not the only issue that concerns the general public, as well as the ethical and moral aspects of cloning and fear for the welfare of the animals.
More research has been done on cloning animals for food. Stephen F. Sundlof, D.V.M., Ph.D., Director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition says, “Our additional review only serves to strengthen our conclusions on food safety. Meat and milk from cow, pig and goat clones, and the offspring of any animal clones, are as safe as the food we consume every day” (Animal). However, is it safe or unsafe to eat meat and dairy products from cloned animals and their progeny? It is up to each individual to make an educated assessment on this issue of cloning animals for food consumption by evaluating the information and coming to a conclusion, either for or against. Or has the FDA made that decision for the United Sates already, by allowing the meat and dairy products of the offspring of clones into the grocery store with out being labeled?
Works Cited
"Animal Cloning and Food Safety." U S Food and Drug Administration Home Page. Web. 26 July 2009. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm148768.htm.
"Cloned Food - Feb 2007 alert." Welcome to Generation Green. Web. 26 July 2009. http://www.generationgreen.org/Action_Alert.htm.
CloneSafety.org. 24 July 2009 http://www.clonesafety.org/.
Mendelson III, Joseph. "Cloned Animals Should Not Be Used for Food." Opposing Viewpoints: Genetic Engineering. Ed. David M. Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Linn Benton Community College. 26 July 2009 http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.libweb.linnbenton.edu:2048/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010138279&source=gale&userGroupName=linnben&version=1.0.
"Risk Management Plan." U S Food and Drug Administration Home Page. 24 July 2009 <http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/AnimalCloning/ucm055490.htm>.
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