Japan Says Cloned Animals are Safe For Food

Tue Jan 20, 3:20 am ET
TOKYO (Reuters) – A study group for Japan's top safety watchdog said cloned animals are safe for food, the first step in a series of decisions needed before the watchdog makes recommendations to the government.

With several meetings pending by a higher-level committee of experts, it will take months before the Food Safety Commission reports its assessment on the safety of food in production using the controversial reproductive technology. The United States in January last year opened the door to bringing meat and milk from cloned cattle, hogs and goats and their offspring into the food supply. "The working group focused on the assessment of the health of cloned cattle and hogs. The assumption of their discussion was that if such animals are healthy, food made from them would be safe," said Kazuo Funasaka, a spokesman at the commission, said on Tuesday. "Their conclusion is that based on the scientific knowledge and information available at present, such food is as safe as cattle and hogs bred conventionally," he said.

Cloning animals is considered a key technology to improve efficiency in livestock production. Japan's health ministry asked the commission in April 2008 for its assessment on safety of such food. Japan's government has had to face fierce criticism from consumers over its handling of tainted imported rice, and a series of food scandals last year have made consumers even more cautious about food from cloned animals.

But Japan was among the first countries to produce cloned animals. It bred cloned cattle in 1998 and the cumulative total of such cattle now totals more than 550. It also breeds cloned hogs and goats, all for research purposes.

(Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
Copyright © 2009 Reuters Limited.

"The assumption of their discussion was that if such animals are healthy, food made from them would be safe." My favorite quote from this article. So empirical isn't it? I am "totally" convinced that these animals are safe. Way to go Japan. ,"

Why Won't They Label? Consumers Wonder...

An article in the 1/27/08 Chicago Tribume states that food safety groups and polls say most Americans won't knowingly buy food from cloned animals. Two bills in Congress are asking for labeling. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) asks the question.

Why won't they label? I think the answer is obvious, because most people won't buy it then! Duh people! Ignorance is bliss. As we know, the FDA claims that cloned products are "no different" thus not requiring a label siting their difference. Are you freakin' kidding me? Not different? Is the American public that dumb to buy that excuse for profit? For now, 89% of Americans want cloned foods labeled, and 69% said they have concerns. We've seen the outcome with hormones and dairy. So this is the next showdown. I am hopeful that the American public will demand their info so they can make informed choices.

USDA versus the FDA

USDA Recommends That Food From Clones Stay Off the Market

The U.S. Department of Agriculture yesterday asked U.S. farmers to keep their cloned animals off the market indefinitely even as Food and Drug Administration officials announced that food from cloned livestock is safe to eat.

full article

I've found myself in agreement with the USDA? I guess stranger things have happened. The thing one must ask yourself is this: What's in it for US, the consumer, to buy cloned meat? Will it be cheaper? Healthier? Doubtful, but I can guarantee we'll see some serious bullshit spin on this one. What about the downsides? We need a hundred years to determine that. No chance my friends.

When you think you've heard it all, especially when we see numerous solutions around us to our farming woes, our chronic health issues, an economics.

Shades Of Soylent Green

FDA to clear cloned livestock for consumers:
report Thu Jan 3, 10:58 PM ET

The U.S. Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) is expected to declare as early as next week that meat and milk from cloned animals and their offspring is safe to eat, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The FDA had previously asked producers of cloned livestock not to sell food products from such animals pending its ruling on their safety, the Journal said on its Web site.

The decision would come after more than six years of wrestling with the question and would be a milestone for a small cadre of biotech companies that want to make a business out of producing cloned farm animals.

(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
Copyright © 2008 Reuters

I know. I have to get past the fact that this is how the world works. Economics supersedes commonsense, and as we've seen in all categories concerning Autism. The biotech companies have won. I look around me and I see illness or disorders. This generation, generation D as some say, isn't enough of a wakeup call to the problems with our food supply and environment. We all know the stats - 1 in 6 kids born today have a delay or disorder. But that doesn't get to me anymore. What is most disturbing is what I see right in front of me. In the classroom (I am a teacher), at the grocery store, everywhere. Kids getting inhaler shots in public with no one even pausing. Medications, creams, special tables, special food. Kids with chronic ezcema and food allergies everywhere I turn. Parents don't seem concerned since they have so much company. It's not alarming, this new normal. 6 out of 22 kids in Leo's class have issues.

I've asked this retorical question before, WHY ARE MOMS TODAY GIVING BIRTH TO CHILDREN WITH ALTERED IMMUNE AND GI SYSTEMS????

All I have to say is they better fucking label it.

Largest U.S. Dairy Shuns Milk From Clones

Largest U.S. dairy shuns milk from clones
Fri Feb 23, 3:07 PM ET
The largest U.S. dairy processor and distributor said even if food products from cloned animals become a reality, it will not sell milk from animals that have been cloned because of ongoing consumer concerns. Dean Foods Co. said late on Thursday that several surveys have shown their U.S. customers are not interested in buying milk or milk products that come from cloned animals. "Our decision not to accept this milk is based on meeting our consumers' expectations," the company said in a statement. "We see no consumer benefit from this technology." The U.S. Food and Drug Administration tentatively ruled late last year that milk and meat from some cloned animals are safe to eat, bringing the controversial technology closer to American grocery carts. Dean said if the FDA approves the sale of milk from clones it will work with its dairy farmers to ensure the milk they supply to the company does not come from those animals. Proponents have touted cloned animals as safe and hope the technology will create animals that produce more milk, better meat and are more disease-resistant. Opinion polls, however, show consumers are more wary. A survey by the International Food Information Council found that more than half of consumers were unlikely to buy food made from cloned animals, no matter what the government says. Cloning animals involves taking the nuclei of cells from adults and fusing them into egg cells that are implanted into a surrogate mother. Hundreds of livestock animals already have been cloned, but producers and the nascent industry have voluntarily agreed not to sell any foods from these animals until the FDA decision is finalized.
Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited

Again, the FDA is picking and choosing what they test and what they don't test for us, the American public. CRAZY! Personally, the scary thing is that if this indeed happens, these providers may not be required to label this meat which leaves Joe consumer with no choices. The sad thing, is that all of these resources are going to cloned meat that promotes our current inefficient disease promoting industrialized farming methods. These methods are what needs changing!