Animal Cloning — Brave New Beef
(updated June 25, 2007)
By Jim Riddle, Coordinator for Organic Agriculture, University of Minnesota
On December 28, 2006, the FDA issued a draft risk assessment, a risk management plan, and guidance to industry on meat and milk from cloned animals. The documents address the risks associated with somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), the most common method used to clone animals, and do not address other cloning technologies or risks associated with genetically engineered animals.
In a nutshell, the FDA identified no new or worsened food safety risks associated with the consumption of meat or milk from cloned juvenile or adult cattle, goats, or hogs and proposed that products from cloned animals be allowed to enter the human food supply, with no labeling or tracking.
The FDA did say that there is insufficient evidence to allow the human consumption of meat or milk from cloned sheep or the human consumption of meat from young cloned calves. The FDA proposed that meat from abnormal or deformed clones can be rendered for livestock feed or pet food.
It is important to note that cloning is an experimental, inefficient, and inhumane technology that results in a tremendous loss of animal life. According to the FDA report, only four to seven percent of cloned animals survive to adulthood. Typically, less than one percent of cloning attempts result in a successful birth, and of those, only a small percentage are healthy enough to live for more than a few days or weeks. This means that hundreds of animals die during pregnancy or are born with serious abnormalities.
"Large Offspring Syndrome" is a common problem with cloned animals, in which the offspring is significantly bigger at birth than a non-cloned animal. This results in an overly painful and stressful labor and delivery for the mother, often requiring surgical intervention to deliver the baby.
Studies show abnormalities are the norm, not the exception. Cloned animals suffer from respiratory distress, hypoglycemia, weakened immune systems, developmental problems, deformities, and a variety of other ailments.
The FDA claims that the clones that survive are "virtually indistinguishable" from normal animals and therefore may enter the food supply. In other words, since the meat and milk looks the same, it must be safe to eat.
The FDA's assumption does not withstand scientific scrutiny, since the genetic code of the cloned animal is reprogrammed during the cloning process. The reprogramming step can result in subtle abnormalities and generate novel proteins, which may be allergenic to humans. Reprogramming errors result in death, obvious malformations, or metabolic derangements, and are reflected in the low success rate of cloning.
The USDA has gone on record stating that cloning is not allowed in organic livestock production.
Why Clone?
There is no shortage of good animal genetics in the U.S., and no shortage of meat or milk. Cloning offers no advantages for consumers, and can cause serious harm to the conventional livestock industry, since the U.S. would be the only country in the world allowing products from cloned animals into the human food supply, with no labeling or tracking. U.S. livestock producers could face a serious backlash from domestic and export markets.
Currently, the FDA has placed a voluntary moratorium on products from clones being used for food, however, there is no enforcement mechanism in place. The "moratorium" must remain in place, and be strengthened. Economic impact studies must be conducted to determine the effects of the FDA's proposal on markets for conventional and organic livestock products.
If products from clones are ever allowed into the food chain, they must be tracked and labeled, in order to conduct long-term health studies, and to give consumers the right to choose which foods they want to eat.
Consumer Choices
If you are concerned about BSE and animal cloning, one clear option is to stop eating beef. While not a big beef eater, I do not advocate that position.
If you are going to eat beef, eat smart. Avoid burger chains. Avoid ground beef, unless you know how the animals were raised and what they were fed. If you want ground beef, buy boneless roasts and have your butcher grind them or grind them yourself.
Know the farmers who raise your meat. Buy meat from farms that do not feed animal by-products, including organic farms. Shop at your local food coop. Look for local, grass-fed meats at the farmers market.
Ask your butcher where the meat comes from and how the animals were raised. Demand that country of origin labeling be implemented. Demand that the practices of animal cloning and the feeding animal by-products to ruminants be strictly prohibited. After all, cows are vegetarians!
