The FDA has just approved the use of cloned meats and animal products such as milk and cheese for human consumption.....How do you feel about eating cloned food-stuff?... Will it change the way you eat or your diet plan?
I guess I need to do some research, but what is the benefit (to farmers, to us as a society, etc) to cloning? I don't understand why there is any need to clone for food. Those are just off the top of my head thoughts that I had when I heard the news report.....
It depends. There are two types of "cloned" meats, I've been hearing about. One is the "Dolly the sheep" type, where an entire animal is cloned from another, basically creating an identical twin of the original animal. The other is where only part of an animal is cloned, such as muscle tissue (there's even talk of "at-home kits" being made available, where a person could "grow" a chicken breast in their kitchen, like they would grow their own sprouts).
I would have less of a "health issue" concern with the first, I think. But, that might just be "Frankenstein prejudice." I guess I'd have to learn a little more about the science behind both, before deciding whether I would find either acceptable, practical, or safe.
I know one of the reasons grow-your-own "parts" has been suggested is that it might be an option for some vegans who do not eat meat for ethical reasons, because without a brain, there would be presumeably be no suffering (however, what if it was brain tissue being cultured, since brains are eaten by some people - would brain tissue cloned, be "active" in any way that might cause any amount of "perception" in the cloned brain)?
The other is where only part of an animal is cloned, such as muscle tissue (there's even talk of "at-home kits" being made available, where a person could "grow" a chicken breast in their kitchen, like they would grow their own sprouts).
Oh WOW! I had no idea. I'm not sure how I feel about that either....
Just to clarify, the "grow your own" or grown parts of animals is NOT what the FDA approved as safe this week. That's theoretical, future applications of a completely different technique that has barely been explored.
The FDA approved the meat of cloned animals, as well as other products from those animals (like dairy) for human consumption. Most likely this won't ever happen. If we eat products of cloned animals, it will be products from the offspring of the cloned animals themselves.
We're not all eating GM foods, though it takes a lot of effort to avoid them. It should be easier, and most people probably don't even realize what's happening.
I'm taking a government class this semester and have to write a research paper at the end. I am going to write about how the government is in the pocket of the lobbyists of the food industry. So the FDA ruled that cloned meat and dairy are safe to eat. How much was paid by the Dairy Council and the Beef Council? How do they know what might happen in 5, 10 or 20 years?
It's the same with gmo's. Nobody knows what the longterm repercussions are, yet the food industry doesn't even have to list on the ingredients if there's anything genetically modified in it.
It's a real shame that the people who don't want to eat frankenfood will have to pay twice as much because they'll have to go to expensive health food stores.
Some really interesting comments here....I'm squeamish about the whole thing (parts, wholes, whatever! ), mainly because I am more of a 'whole foods' person. I try to eat natural as much as possible, so almost no packaged food and alot of organic and local products. Eating a cloned animal would really undermine my efforts as a foodie naturalist.... And on that note, it irks me that we have no labeling requirements in this country. I want to know if I'm getting GM food, food from China, cloned meats, etc. I don't understand why nearly all of Europe has stringent food labeling laws and in the US we are clueless...
Okay, that's my rant for the day....Thanks for your comments everyone. I find this an interesting topic and enjoyed hearing what you all had to say ~ and was even educated on the finer points of cloning!
We eat cloned foods all the time. Many crop plants are grown by cloning. In fact, many plants don't produce much seed. They are "propagated" from nonreproductive tissues.
The best example is potatoes. You grow potato plants by taking a potato, termed your "seed potato," cutting it into pieces that each contain an "eye," and planting the pieces. This is cloning! The resulting plants are genetically identical to the potato you planted.
It's hard to see what the advantage would be to cloning animals for food, though--because I think at the current level of technology, you still need a mother. So it's not like they could bypass that step.
Cloning, as I understand it isn't too far removed from what happens when a natural identical twin is born. In that sense, it would be less "messed with" than "genetically modified" foodstuffs. So, I imagine where it would be most applicable, would be in any case that a "twin" would be an advantage. A "pefect" meat or dairy animal might be cloned, rather than trying to selectively breed for those traits, which could take generations and still not be successful.
I don't know. It sounds a little "sci-fi" to me, but I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand either, until I knew more.
Cloned food - will you be eating it?
), mainly because I am more of a 'whole foods' person. I try to eat natural as much as possible, so almost no packaged food and alot of organic and local products. Eating a cloned animal would really undermine my efforts as a foodie naturalist.... And on that note, it irks me that we have no labeling requirements in this country. I want to know if I'm getting GM food, food from China, cloned meats, etc. I don't understand why nearly all of Europe has stringent food labeling laws and in the US we are clueless...
