FDA moves closer to approving cloned meat and milk for consumption

[CaroleG]

The government said Tuesday it is moving closer to approving meat and milk from cloned animals, drawing protests from consumer groups.

The Bush administration is currently reviewing Food and Drug Administration plans to regulate cloned animals and food derived from them, the agency said in a statement. A draft of the plans should be released by the end of the year, FDA said.

The agency has "studies that show that the meat and milk from cattle clones and their offspring are as safe as that from conventionally bred animals," the FDA statement said.

.......

The Washington-based Center for Food Safety said food labels should disclose that it came from cloned animals. Concerns over hormones and antibiotics have helped drive ever-growing demand for organic food, said Joseph Mendelson, legal director of the Center for Food Safety.

"Because consumers are not getting the specific product information, it will impugn the whole conventional market," Mendelson said.


http://www.ajc.com/health/content/shared-gen/ap/Health_Medical/Cloned_Food.html

[soothsayer]

1. Isn't it more expensive to clone than it is to just have them do what

the bulls do to the cows on my friend's farm so well?

And of course they should be labeled and SO SHOULD GM FOOD!!!!! GRRRRRR!

[cmb3366a]

2. cloning or engineering?

I was under the impression that the cloning (true cloning) of vertebrates was still impractical, and years away from being so, as currently there is a high percentage of mutants with phenotypical defects?; is this just government/media speak for genetically engineered animals?