Cloning has been controversial ever since Scottish
scientists announced in 1996 that they had cloned their first mammal, a
sheep they named Dolly. While Dolly lived a painful, arthritic life and
died prematurely, possibly due to the imperfections of cloning, industry
nonetheless began seeking ways to capitalize on the new technology.
Meanwhile, critics bemoaned cloning as immoral and a potential health and
safety risk, given the as-yet-unknown consequences of eating foods
generated in this way.
In January 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) approved the sale of cloned animals and their
offspring for food, despite fierce opposition from animal welfare and
consumer advocacy groups, environmental organizations, some members of
Congress, and many consumers.
“Our evaluation is that the food from cloned
animals is as safe as the food we eat every day,” said Stephen
Sundlof, the FDA’s chief of veterinary medicine. The U.S. Department
of Agriculture has asked that producers withhold cloned animals, but not
their offspring, from the food supply while farmers, processors, grocery
stores and restaurants decide how they will respond to the FDA’s
landmark decision.
Unsurprisingly, industry groups also argue that beef
and milk from cloned animals is safe to consume. They cite a 2005
University of Connecticut study that concluded that beef and milk from
cloned cows did not pose any health or safety threats to people consuming
it.
But critics say that the oft-cited single study was
far too limited to yield any meaningful conclusions: Milk and beef were
taken from just six cloned animals, and the study did not take into account
whether clones were more susceptible to infection or other microbial
problems, as many scientists suspect. Other researchers have noted severe
deformities in many cloned animals, as well as a higher incidence of
reproductive, immune and other health problems.
The Washington, DC-based Center for Food Safety, in a
petition filed in late 2006, declared: “The available science shows
that cloning presents serious food safety risks, animal welfare concerns
and unresolved ethical issues that require strict oversight.” The
group announced on September 2, 2008 that 20 leading U.S. food producers
— including Kraft Foods, General Mills, Gerber/Nestle,
Campbell’s Soup and Ben & Jerry’s — will not use
cloned animals in their products. “The move by these companies
represents a growing industry trend of responding to consumer demand for
better food safety, environmental and animal welfare standards,” the
group said.
Given the FDA’s green light, consumers’
only hope of avoiding cloned animal products may be to appeal to businesses
directly not to peddle such items. The Pennsylvania-based American
Anti-Vivisection Society, which opposes all forms of animal research and
testing, has mounted a campaign to urge McDonald’s to forego cloned
animals in its 30,000 restaurants worldwide.
Send questions to Earth Talk, care of E/The Environmental Magazine,
P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881 or e-mail earthtalk@emagazine.com.
This article appears in Sep 4-10, 2008.
