CLONE: Who wants to back sale of source-anonymous meat?
Lively updated news: V20070102...0123
Smooth-spoken
On 28 December 2006, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration issued a new year's gift to the industries that producing the human foods (milk and meat) derived from clones' offspring. The attached assessment claimed that cloned cattle, pigs and goats produced food "as safe as the food we eat every day", because the cloned animals produced food products virtually indistinguishable from more traditional offerings [1].
With a lengthy assessment report, which concluded that "there is no science based reason to recommend any additional safeguards" [2], the agency "believes that food products from clone progeny are suitable to enter the food and feed supply" and "therefore", "we do not have any recommendations for any additional measures related to the use of products from cattle, swine, or goat clones as human food"[3].
The last statement on "any additional measures" is somewhat ambiguous at the first glance. BBC News explained it clearly: "the agency suggested that the results meant it would be unlikely to recommend placing special labels on food from cloned animals." [4]
Comments in BBC News: in Have Your Say |
The US Government refuses to mandate labelling of GM and cloned food. They then threaten economic sanctions against any country blocking imports to protect the profits of their biotech industry. I want the freedom to choose whether I consume these things or not. Since the products are not labelled the only way I can exercise my choice is to not buy any food that says "made in USA." Paul Stimpson, Farnborough, UK
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Americans can do what they like regarding GM food, cloned meat, and so on - as long as it is in their own country. My objection is that the US forces this weird science on the rest of us under threat of a trade embargo. As a country founded on freedom, the US seemingly grants no freedom to the rest of us. Paul Robinson, Abingdon, UK
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Like some other posters, I can't really understand the perceived benefits from cloned animals - increased meat yield perhaps, but given how cheap meat is these days, so what? Jon Doust
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I think this is a disgrace to the human race. Why would the FDA even allow this and then state that it may not require a label. I've decided that fish and very little fish will be my choice of meat. I've even decided to grow my own vegetables and fruit and preserve them like my grandmother did 60 years ago. I'm appalled!!! Megan, Warren, Michigan, USA
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Science-based
In a scientific sketch, an animal clone is a genetic copy of a donor animal, similar to identical twins but born at different times. That is, cloning does not change the gene sequence. This sustains FDA's judgment and belief in human food derived from clone's progeny, but is it enough for issuing an anonymous passport?
Because their DNAs are the same, it's safe as the naturally breeding livestock, really? This logic poses more uncertainties. Today's cell biology can not give definitive answer to any cell-related problem such as aging, cancer, AIDS and so on. It's only at the very earlier stage of full understanding of complex interactions within a mammal's cell, let alone the biological interactions and transformations happened in larger scale, a body.
Moreover, note that the first animal, a sheep, Dolly, was just successfully cloned in 1996; and there already exists very negative evidence on clone reproducing of mice [5]. The period of a five-year study is too short to assess the long-term influence on individual consumer and society.
Therefore, concerning our today's progresses in biology, it's not convincible for scientifically evaluating the final influence of reproductive cloning and eating foods produced from clones' offspring. That's an impossible task now.
Roadmap of Clone:
Species of animals that have been cloned *
Species | References |
| Clone Ref.01 | 1997 Sheep HRimage |
 1997 Sheep HRimage | Clone Ref.01-1 Campbell, K. H. ; McWhir, J. ; Ritchie, W. A. & Wilmut, I. Clone Ref.01-2 Wilmut, I.; Schnieke, A. E.; McWhir, J.; Kind, A. J. & Campbell, K. H. S. |
| Clone Ref.02 | 1998 Mouse HRimage |
 1998 Mouse HRimage | Clone Ref.02-1 Wakayama, T.; Perry, A. C.; Zuccotti, M.; Johnson, K. R. & Yanagimachi, R. Clone Ref.02-2 Wakayama, T.; Shinkai Y.; Tamashiro K. L.; Niida H.; Blanchard D. C.; Blanchard R. J.; Ogura A.; Tanemura K.; Tachibana M.; Perry A. C.; Colgan D. F.; Mombaerts P. & Yanagimachi R. Clone Ref.02-3 Teruhiko Wakayama, Ryuzo Yanagimachi |
| Clone Ref.03 | 2002 Cow HRimage |
 2002 Cow HRimage | Erik J. Forsberg, Nikolai S. Strelchenko, Monica L. Augenstein, Jeffery M. Betthauser, Lynette A. Childs, Kenneth J. Eilertsen, Joellyn M. Enos, Todd M. Forsythe, Paul J. Golueke, Richard W. Koppang, Gail Lange, Tiffany L. Lesmeister, Kelly S. Mallon, Greg D. Mell, Pavla M. Misica, Marvin M. Pace, Martha Pfister-Genskow, Gary R. Voelker, Steven R. Watt & Michael D. Bishop Forsberg, E. J.; Strelchenko, N. S.; Augenstein, M. L.; Betthauser, J. M.; Childs, L. A.; Eilertsen, K. J.; Enos, J. M.; Forsythe, T. M.; Golueke, P. J.; Koppang, R. W.; Lange, G.; Lesmeister, T. L.; Mallon, K. S.; Mell, G. D.; Misica, P. M.; Pace, M. M.; Pfister-Genskow, M.; Voelker, G. R.; Watt S. R. & Bishop, M. D. Production of Cloned Cattle from In Vitro Systems Biol Reprod 67, 327-333 (2002). [Biology of Reproduction] □ Society for the Study of Reproduction, Inc. :: Abs . Full . PDF |
| Clone Ref.04 | 2002 Goat HRimage |
 2002 Goat HRimage | Keefer, C. L.; Keyston, R.; Lazaris, A.; Bhatia, B.; Begin, I.; Bilodeau, A. S. ; Zhou, F. J.; Kafidi, N.; Wang, B.; Baldassarre, H. & Karatzas, C. N. Production of Cloned Goats after Nuclear Transfer Using Adult Somatic Cells. Biol. Reprod. 66, 199 – 203 (2002). [Biology of Reproduction] □ Society for the Study of Reproduction, Inc. :: Abs . Full . PDF |
| Clone Ref.05 | 2003 Mule HRimage |
 2003 Mule HRimage | Woods, G. L.; White, K. L.; Vanderwall, D. K.; Li, G. P.; Aston, K. I.; Bunch, T. D.; Meerdo, L. N. & Pate, B. J. A mule cloned from fetal cells by nuclear transfer. Science 301 (5636), 1063 (2003). □ doi: 10.1126/science.1086743 | CrossRef □ XLinks :: PubMed □ AAAS :: AbsTOC . Full . PDF . Supp.Info. Science Express online 20030529; Printed 20030822 |
| Clone Ref.06 | 2003 Horse HRimage |
 2003 Horse HRimage | Galli, C.; Lagutina, I.; Crotti, G.; Colleoni, S.; Turini, P.; Ponderato, N.; Duchi, R. & Lazzari, G. Pregnancy: a cloned horse born to its dam twin. Nature 424, 635 (2003). □ doi :: 10.1038/424635a | CrossRef □ XLinks :: PubMed | ISI □ NPG :: Abs . FigureTable . Full . PDF . Supp.Info. Printed 20030807 |
| Clone Ref.07 | 2002 Rabbit HRimage |
 2002 Rabbit HRimage | Patrick Chesné, Pierre G. Adenot, Céline Viglietta, Michel Baratte, Laurent Boulanger & Jean-Paul Renard Chesne P, Adenot P. G.; Viglietta C.; Baratte M.; Boulanger L. & Renard J. P. Cloned rabbits produced by nuclear transfer from adult somatic cells. Nat. Biotechnol. 20, 366 – 369 (2002). □ doi :: 10.1038/nbt0402-366 | CrossRef □ XLinks :: PubMed | ISI □ NPG :: Abs . FigureTable . Full . PDF |
| Clone Ref.08 | 2002 Cat HRimage |
 2002 Cat HRimage | Taeyoung Shin, Duane Kraemer, Jane Pryor, Ling Liu, James Rugila, Lisa Howe, Sandra Buck, Keith Murphy, Leslie Lyons and Mark Westhusin Shin, T. Y.; Kraemer, D.; Pryor, J.; Liu, L.; Rugila, J.; Howe, L.; Buck, S.; Murphy, K.; Lyons, L. & Westhusin, M. A cat cloned by nuclear transplantation. Nature 415 (6874), 859 (2002). □ doi :: 10.1038/nature723 | CrossRef □ XLinks :: PubMed | ISI □ NPG :: Abs . FigureTable . Full . PDF . Supp.Info. Printed 20020221 |
| Clone Ref.09 | 2000 Pig HRimage |
 2000 Pig HRimage | Irina A. Polejaeva, Shu-Hung Chen, Todd D. Vaught, Raymond L. Page, June Mullins, Suyapa Ball, Yifan Dai, Jeremy Boone, Shawn Walker, David L. Ayares, Alan Colman and Keith H. S. Campbell. Polejaeva, I. A.; Chen, S. H.; Vaught, T. D.; Page, R. L.; Mullins, J.; Ball, S.; Dai, Y. F.; Boone, J.; Walker, S.; Ayares, D. L.; Colman, A. & Campbell, K. H. S. |
| Clone Ref.10 | 2005 Dog HRimage |
 2005 Dog HRimage | Byeong Chun Lee, Min Kyu Kim, Goo Jang, Hyun Ju Oh, Fibrianto Yuda, Hye Jin Kim, M. Hossein Shamim, Jung Ju Kim, Sung Keun Kang, Gerald Schatten and Woo Suk Hwang Snuppy verdict S1 20050825 Corrigendum. |
| Clone Ref.11 | 2003 Rat HRimage |
 2003 Rat HRimage | Qi Zhou, Jean-Paul Renard, Gaëlle Le Friec, Vincent Brochard, Nathalie Beaujean, Yacine Cherifi, Alexandre Fraichard and Jean Cozzi Zhou, Q.; Renard, J. P.; Friec, G. L.; Brochard, V.; Beaujean, N.; Cherifi, Y.; Fraichard, A. & Cozzi, J. Generation of Fertile Cloned Rats by Regulating Oocyte Activation Science 302 (5648), 1179 (2003) . □ doi :: 10.1126/science.1088313 | CrossRef □ AAAS :: AbsTOC . Full . PDF . Supp.Info. Science Express Online 20030925; Printed 20031114 |
| Clone Ref.12 | 2003 Deer HRimage |
 2003 Deer HRimage | 20031222 CVM Researchers First to Clone White-tailed Deer Link Dewey, the world's first deer clone was born May 23, 2003 Photo Credits: Courtesy of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University. |
© Photo Credits: The authors and their organizations.
* References' order based on FDA report: A Risk-Based Approach to Evaluate Animal Clones and Their Progeny – DRAFT. Chapter II: Technology Overview: Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer and Other Assisted Reproductive Technologies. >> Link
Super-potential without labelling:
Next-generation Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Name of CLONE
CLONE MEAT: next WMD?
Credit: Scidea Art 2007 Source: ScideaNews.com
Yes, if regardless of my feeling, and just upon the clone's technique design depicted in nominal science definition—"DNA coping but not altering", I can accept to eat such a food as an individual. However, in the opposite direction of FDA's repeated stress in that lengthy and narrow report —"The main use of clones is to produce breeding stock, not food", I prefer to eat the food derived from the clone itself rather than its offspring, because I don't want to give so much time to the cloned animal for its possibly enhanced probability of gene mutation.
At this point, let's return back to the negative report on cloning from Cornell University in New York, US [5].The scientists found cloned mice embryos had significant development problems. And they also observed unusual patterns of genetic development in the clones. It can not explain clear why the unusual patterns are, but it certainly resulted from the inevitable interference with embryo during cloning, and subsequent unexpected changing or mutation for fit in the cells due to this artificial interference.
We need not hundreds pages of assessment report to claim its safe and great potentials. Before every puzzle has been solved, one negative evidence is just enough for rejection to the widespread application of clone and its products.
Yes, cloning as well as other advanced bio-techs such as genetic engineering etc. gives great chances for human health. However, if we just care of profit and do not limit their applications in severely controlled scope, the final influence on human race could be fatal.
Yes, clone may mean the better quality of the foods, the more yields thus more profit for US, and at last, for the world. However, mass-productivity within a short time and narrow foods' sources pose much higher risks for our community. And more importantly, in the Name of CLONE, and shielding with no-labelling recommended clearly by FDA's strong safe belief, it's so easy and cost-effective to make new-generation Weapons of Mass Destruction by adding some designed DNA in our foods.
The United States could soon become the first country to allow milk and meat from cloned animals into the food supply. If the above-mentioned WMD is possible, who would be the first country to claim a war with other in the Name of CLONE?
Therefore, the widespread application of clone is too early to hope for a good outcome. FDA's no-labelling is indeed a double-edged sword. This exaggerated belief in science is not only an abuse of authority but also outrageous infringement of human rights. ♦
* Lin PU is in the Physics Department of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, CHINA.
References
| 1 | FDA: 20061228 FDA Issues Draft Documents on the Safety of Animal Clones. |
| 2 | FDA: 20061228 A Risk-Based Approach to Evaluate Animal Clones and Their Progeny – DRAFT. |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
Citation
L. PU
Lin PU. Clone: who wants to back sale of source-anonymous meat? Scidea Sketch 1 (2), ss20070101a1 (2007).
♦ doi: 10.3128/ss20070101a1 | Scidea :: Abs . Full | CrossRef
♦ Scidea Sketch :: ISSN: 1992 - 8548
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