Originally published October 12 2005
Consumer group advises caution when it comes to cloned food products
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
As the FDA moves towards its announcement as to the future of the cloned foods industry, the Consumer Federation of America remains unconvinced, citing a lack of sufficient evidence to prove the safety of cloned meat and milk.
The Food and Drug Administration is said to be close to announcing a position on allowing the products of cloned livestock into the U.S. food supply.
But a bigger question is whether American consumers will approve of such an idea.
Already some consumer groups are lining up against the idea, suggesting American parents won't accept milk from cloned cows for their children.
The agriculture and food industries, meanwhile, believe cloning would make a major improvement in the nation's livestock.
The FDA has been working on a policy for at least three years, but hasn't produced a final version.
Some biotechnology companies, poised to enter the food market, have reportedly run out of cash while waiting.
Two years ago the FDA tentatively concluded that meat and milk from cloned livestock are safe for consumption, and at the time predicted a final decision by mid 2004.
Agriculture specialists say FDA approval of cloning will not likely lead to large numbers of cloned livestock on the dinner table.
The clones would be used to make many more animals by conventional breeding, and those animals, the offspring of clones, could enter the food supply.
One concern is that cloning results in many failed pregnancies and abnormal offspring, raising the risk that milk or meat from such animals could be tainted.
But the FDA has said that clones that survive past early childhood appear to be as healthy as other animals and food from them should be safe.
But that may not satisfy all the critics, who say the safety evidence has not been convincing.
The Consumer Federation of America is on record as counseling caution, with a wide ranging discussion of ethical, health and safety issues.
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