Cloned aminals

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to announce next week that the meat and dairy products from cloned animals and their offspring are safe for human consumption.

The FDA has wrestled with the question for over six years. In the meantime, it had asked producers of cloned livestock not to put food products from cloned animals on the market, until the agency has issued a definite opinion on their safety. It is not clear if the FDA will now lift this voluntary restriction.

In 2006, the FDA issued a tentative opinion that cloned animals are no different from conventionally bred animals. At the time, the FDA said cloning was simply a more advanced level of breeding technology essentially similar to such technologies as artificial insemination, embryo transfer and in vitro fertilization, all of which are already actively used in the livestock industry.

A number of consumer groups vehemently oppose the idea of having cloned food products get on grocery shelves, and some members of Congress agree with them. Two senators have submitted an amendment to the proposed farm bill that would instruct the FDA to put off any decision on the issue until further studies are conducted.

A consumer advocacy group has filed a petition for the FDA to regulate cloned animals as an animal drug, in line with FDA’s plans to regulate genetically modified animals. Technically, there is a difference: genetically modified animals have had certain sequences or segments of their genes modified; cloned animals have not undergone any gene modification, they are simply genetically identical copies of the original.

The FDA decision is being watched with keen interest by regulators in other countries. The European Food Safety Authority, the equivalent of the FDA, may deliver an initial assessment on cloned animal products next week, although a final decision will be announced several months from now. A special commission, the European Group for Ethics, is studying the issue of whether cloning is inhumane.

The food industry itself is divided over the issue. Some big companies say they will not market food from cloned animals or offspring. They believe consumers do not find such food appealing. They would also like to see a mandatory tracking system in place.

If cloned animals get FDA clearance, it will take between 3-5 years before any meat or dairy products are ready to market.

A July 2007 consumer survey reported that one-half of Americans do not view cloning favorably and over one-fourth (28 percent) are neutral about it. Only 22 percent were in favor. In the same survey, however, 46 percent would view it favorably if the FDA says food from clones are safe, and 49 percent said they would buy products.