I'm about to go straight vegetarian or at least eat only organic meats. This shit is getting crazy!!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080115/hl_nm/cloning_food_dc
U.S. gives blessing to food from cloned animals
By Missy Ryan
24 minutes ago
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ruled food from certain cloned animals and their offspring is as safe as other food, opening the door to using the controversial technology in the U.S. food supply.
The FDA confirmed preliminary findings in a final risk assessment on cloning on Tuesday.
"Extensive evaluation of the available data has not identified any subtle hazards that might indicate food consumption risks in healthy clones of cattle, swine or goats," the agency wrote.
The FDA said it did not have enough information, however, to make the same assertion about cloned sheep.
The FDA ruling is the latest twist after years of debate over the reproductive technology, which advocates say will provide consumers with top-quality food by replicating prized animals that can breed highly productive offspring.
The cloning industry, made up so far of only a handful of firms, expects that it will be the offspring of cloned animals, not the costly clones themselves, that would eventually provide meat or milk to U.S. consumers.
There are currently about 570 cloned animals in the United States, but the livestock industry has so far followed a voluntary ban on marketing food from the animals.
It could take four or five years before consumers are able to buy products derived from cloned animals.
While the science appears to have come down on the side of the cloning industry, the technology remains controversial, even within the agriculture industry.
Some dairy firms oppose cloning, betting that consumers will shun goods they see linked to cloning technology.
Others believe that more investigation is needed to conclude cloning is safe -- especially after a year in which consumer confidence was marred by numerous food scares -- or oppose it on moral or religious grounds.
"Despite widespread public disapproval, FDA is not planning to require labeling of products from cloned animals, keeping already wary consumers in the dark," Food and Water Watch, an advocacy group, said in a statement.
Greg Jaffe, director of biotechnology at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says the cloning industry must now convince the public why cloning is useful.
"Just because the technology is safe, it doesn't mean that as a society there is reason to embrace it," he said.
Jaffe expects Congress or some states may try to impose additional restrictions on marketing or labeling.
The Senate has passed a bill, which must be merged with a House bill and approved by the president, that would delay FDA approval until after more studies are completed.
Several major food companies quickly stated that they are not signing up, at least right away. Tyson Foods Inc, the largest U.S. meat producer, said on Tuesday it has no immediate plans to buy cloned livestock.
The FDA cloning decision comes as biotechnology becomes an ever more important part of global agriculture.
Last week, the European Food Safety Authority made an interim ruling about food from cloned animals and their offspring, saying it was unlikely there was any difference from food derived from traditionally bred animals.
(Additional reporting by Bob Burgdorfer in Chicago; editing by Russell Blinch and Matthew Lewis)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080115/hl_nm/cloning_food_dc
U.S. gives blessing to food from cloned animals
By Missy Ryan
24 minutes ago
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ruled food from certain cloned animals and their offspring is as safe as other food, opening the door to using the controversial technology in the U.S. food supply.
The FDA confirmed preliminary findings in a final risk assessment on cloning on Tuesday.
"Extensive evaluation of the available data has not identified any subtle hazards that might indicate food consumption risks in healthy clones of cattle, swine or goats," the agency wrote.
The FDA said it did not have enough information, however, to make the same assertion about cloned sheep.
The FDA ruling is the latest twist after years of debate over the reproductive technology, which advocates say will provide consumers with top-quality food by replicating prized animals that can breed highly productive offspring.
The cloning industry, made up so far of only a handful of firms, expects that it will be the offspring of cloned animals, not the costly clones themselves, that would eventually provide meat or milk to U.S. consumers.
There are currently about 570 cloned animals in the United States, but the livestock industry has so far followed a voluntary ban on marketing food from the animals.
It could take four or five years before consumers are able to buy products derived from cloned animals.
While the science appears to have come down on the side of the cloning industry, the technology remains controversial, even within the agriculture industry.
Some dairy firms oppose cloning, betting that consumers will shun goods they see linked to cloning technology.
Others believe that more investigation is needed to conclude cloning is safe -- especially after a year in which consumer confidence was marred by numerous food scares -- or oppose it on moral or religious grounds.
"Despite widespread public disapproval, FDA is not planning to require labeling of products from cloned animals, keeping already wary consumers in the dark," Food and Water Watch, an advocacy group, said in a statement.
Greg Jaffe, director of biotechnology at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says the cloning industry must now convince the public why cloning is useful.
"Just because the technology is safe, it doesn't mean that as a society there is reason to embrace it," he said.
Jaffe expects Congress or some states may try to impose additional restrictions on marketing or labeling.
The Senate has passed a bill, which must be merged with a House bill and approved by the president, that would delay FDA approval until after more studies are completed.
Several major food companies quickly stated that they are not signing up, at least right away. Tyson Foods Inc, the largest U.S. meat producer, said on Tuesday it has no immediate plans to buy cloned livestock.
The FDA cloning decision comes as biotechnology becomes an ever more important part of global agriculture.
Last week, the European Food Safety Authority made an interim ruling about food from cloned animals and their offspring, saying it was unlikely there was any difference from food derived from traditionally bred animals.
(Additional reporting by Bob Burgdorfer in Chicago; editing by Russell Blinch and Matthew Lewis)
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Fuck it,imma die anyway! so pass that chicken my brother! chuuuuch.
