Frankenfood Update: Already In Your Grocer?

The FDA has approved the sale of cloned milk and meat in the general marketplace. The next battle on this issue will be over whether or not to label these foods, as consumers tend to shy away from cloned food when asked and companies who support organic, mother-nature based products want to know before they use the cattle. However, the FDA and the companies who produce the clones find this unnecessary – shocking. But that’s only part of it, some food experts think cloned food is already in the marketplace.

Right now the only thing holding back cloned food from entering the marketplace is a voluntary ban and not everyone is feeling quite so voluntary. Cloned calves have been produced as far back as 18 months ago, and may well be active parts of dairy farms or the slaughterhouse line. From BusinessWeek:

“Not everyone is holding their breath for the FDA to approve, and if people believe that this meat isn’t already in the market, they are clueless,” says Donald Coover, a veterinarian with an embryo transfer facility in Galesburg, Kan., who has produced several clones at his facility.

The FDA did a pretty decent study based off the information available, which isn’t a lot given the how new this technology is. We found some things unsettling however such as this:

In clones that survive the neonatal period, some studies have identified differences in physiological measures between clones and comparators during the first few weeks of life. These findings support the notion that bovine clones are more physiologically unstable during the early juvenile period. There is evidence that the physiological transition from neonatal period to the juvenile period may take longer in calf clones (e.g., elevated body temperature during the first two months of life).

None of that sounds specifically dire but it does raise some red flags and left us wondering how long after this period are these cattle monitored? Agribusiness isn’t known for its patience. We also wondered aloud in our other post on this issue, what is the point? These cattle cost thousands of dollars initially to clone. Sure, they have better DNA and you’re essentially accelerating localized adaptation, but lets look at where that has gotten us as a people thus far shall we? We have dogs small enough to fit in our purses, but with heads so deformed they have to face plant into their food to eat it. We’ve bred just about all the flavor and nutrients out of our produce so that it fits better in the shipping containers, wards off bugs from the inside, and always looks TV perfect. Which is something you want when you’re essentially eating it for nutrients and flavor. Now we’re cloning cattle so you get the best 4H ribbon and a nice T-bone at the end? Cattle are already hopped up on so many growth hormones, antibiotics and fertilization schedules, its not enough when they actually produce what we ask of them? We could easily foresee a situation say 20 years from now when the newest breed of foodies turns away from cloned cattle for “heirloom steaks” in much the same way they’re seeking out the old reject vegetables with flavor.

The time, money, and sheer arrogance involved in this experiment is astounding. Nature has been producing the food web roughly since the beginning of time while feeding billions of species, but apparently that’s the old technology. Growing super cattle out of a dish is where it’s at. Maybe they can figure it out with humans next and we won’t need plastic surgery or steroids.

We’ll leave out the almost obscene level of irony that the bulk of this work is being done in states like Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri where the anti-evolution camps are the strongest. Although we would be interested in a comment on exactly how the justification works out.

Further:
FDA Says Clones Are Safe For Food
Animal Cloning: A Risk Assessment
Editorial: Labeling should be required on cloned animal products
Uproar over Cloned Food? Copy That