In December 2006, the Food and Drug Administration gave preliminary approval for meat and milk from cloned animals to be sold in supermarkets around the country. Scientists said there is virtually no difference between food from cloned livestock and natural livestock.
The FDA said labeling the foods, whether cloned or not, isn’t necessary.
“If food from clones is indistinguishable, FDA doesn’t have the authority to require labels,” said Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine.
But other officials said they did not have enough information to decide whether food from sheep clones is safe.
I thought my ears were playing tricks on me as I watched the CNN Headline News segment in the airport. I at other passengers and saw complete looks of disgust.
Americans should have the right to choose, especially when it comes to what we eat.
But not labeling the cloned contents completely deceives consumers.
I trust the government to provide safe and clean food, air and water, but they have failed.
It was ridiculous for the FDA to pre-approve cloned livestock food without completely knowing all of the risks involved with every cloned animal.
I would hate if five to 10 years from now, a breakthrough occurs and we find that food from cloned animals cause cancer, fetal deformities or any other hazards.
A Dec. 28, 2006 FDA-issued press release said, “Due to limited data on sheep clones, in the draft guidance FDA recommends that sheep clones not be used for human food.” With that being stated, there absolutely shouldn’t be any approvals on any cloned goods.
Remember Mad Cow Disease? It seems that cows continually make the “not-so-healthy” list.
In the CNN segment, “Is Cloned Meat Safe,” Maryland dairy farmer Greg Wiles owned two cloned cows, Cyagra Z and Genesis Z.
Genesis seemed to be perfectly healthy. But Wiles said Cyagra Z has miscarried, lost 500 pounds and had other medical problems.
Cyagra Z is an example of a cloned animal gone bad.
It seems the U.S. government and FDA are overlooking animals like Cyagra Z.
As Americans it is now time to end our passive nature and exercise our right to choose.
But time is ticking. As the days wind down, the FDA could give an official OK in the days ahead.
Nyerere Davidson is a senior public relations student from Milwaukee. He can be reached at nyjournal@hotmail.com.