THE GREAT AMERICAN LAB RAT.

CLONED ANIMALS APPROVED.

MEAT & DAIRY from cloned animals, TO BE INTRODUCED INTO THE AMERICAN FOOD SUPPLY.

What the heck is going on?


FDA DOCKET #2003N-0573
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced its approval of meat and dairy products from cloned animals amidst widespread concern among scientists and food safety advocates. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a preliminary safety assessment in December 2006 that clears the way for marketing of meat and dairy products from cloned animals for human consumption. The assessment and the agency's endorsement of cloned food comes despite widespread concern among scientists and food safety advocates over the safety of such products. The move to market cloned milk and meat also flies in the face of dairy and food industry concern and recent consumer opinion polls showing that most Americans do not want these experimental foods.

"Instead of doing its job, the Bush FDA has ignored the science and fast-tracked this decision for the benefit of a few cloning companies, "said Joseph Mendelson, Legal Director for the Center for Food Safety (CFS). "This is a lose-lose situation for consumers and the dairy industry." Despite recent consumer opinion polls showing that most Americans do not want food from cloned animals, cloned milk may soon be sold, unlabeled, in grocery stores across the country, and cloned meat will be next. Scientists say that clones may be inherently unhealthy, with potentially harmful consequences for animal foods derived from clones. Tests were conducted by the clonging companies, so the the information provided by them is biased. How can we assure that the information they present is factual. Once again the FDA fails to do it’s job. This our health, this is the heald of my family, how can you say that over a 6 month period there was no evidence of any serious concerns for cloned or genitically modified animals? Is 6 months enough? NO. Moreover, animal cloning is a cruel technology that results in needless animal suffering.

DOLLY… The first cloned mammal was the famed sheep Dolly. But after the hype, few followed the story of Dolly’s demise. Just six years old when euthanized (sheep of Dolly’s breed generally live to 11 or 12), Dolly suffered from arthritis and lung disease usually seen in much older animals. Sadly, Dolly is not unique among clones.

Leading cloning scientists say clones are likely to carry genetic abnormalities, and the lead scientist responsible for creating Dolly has warned that even small imbalances in a clone’s hormone, protein or fat levels could compromise the safety of its milk or meat.

It appears that once again the FDA has seemingly ignored scientific and public concerns. It’s time for FDA to put the health and welfare of Americans over corporate profits.

The FDA action follows the recent news that the agency has refused to investigate health problems in animal clones on a U.S. dairy farm. Greg Wiles, whose Williamsport Maryland "Futuraland 2020" dairy was the first farm in the nation to have cloned cows, told FDA that one of his two cow clones was suffering from unexplained health problems. Wiles told Food Chemical News that the clone (Cyagra) "just stopped growing...she just looks terrible," but says that when he reported the problems to FDA and other federal officials, he was "paddled around like a tennis ball from agency to agency." “Cyagra has had health problems and should be studied. Cyagra has never grown to full size, aborted her first calf and had another that died a month after it was born.” Wiles has offered her to the government for research. The government has declined.