Clone

Hello, Dolly?

Hello, Dolly?Posted by Kerry Trueman on November 16, 2005 - 8:32am.

Would you care if the milk you drank came from a cloned cow? At the very least, wouldn’t you like to know if it did?

A new poll conducted by the non-partisan Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology found that a majority of Americans are uncomfortable with the whole concept of cloning animals, and nearly half the participants feared that cloned food products could be unsafe.

But the FDA is reportedly close to approving the sale of milk from clones and meat from their offspring. And there won’t be any requirements to label the cloned products as such, so consumers who’d prefer their dairy and beef products be clone-free won’t have the luxury of making an informed choice.

The pro-cloning camp touts the potential benefits: “super cows” who could produce 45,000 pounds of milk a year, or a breed that emits less ozone-depleting methane. More milk, less gas.

But others, including many dairy farmers, have serious doubts about whether this biotechnological breakthrough is really such a boon, given the high cost of cloning and potential resistance from consumers.

Hey, I’m all in favor of innovation; in Sweden, they’re making biogas from methane and using it to power passenger trains.

Think outside the box, by all means, but if that box is labeled “Pandora,” think again.



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