Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Who wants some cloned beef?

Today the FDA made a rather foolish (in my opinion) ruling by allowing products from cloned animals to enter the national food supply. What's even better is that no labels or warnings are needed on these products. They suggest a several month prolonged ban, but as far as I can tell these products (milk, meat, etc.) can start being sold tomorrow. This seems crazy to me. Yes, I understand that the FDA has "evaluated" the risks and has not found these products to be hazardous, but they were also the ones to evaluate Vioxx, Aprotinin, Valdecoxib, Bextra, Zelnorm, Baycol, etc. and then subsequently pull them later due to overlooked adverse effects. I am not sure that I want them to decide whether or not cloned meat is good for me. I think the Europeans had a better approach. As I understand it the EU will allow the cloned products to be sold, but they have to be labeled as coming form a cloned animal. This makes much more sense to me. Maybe I should look into starting that farm...

2 comments:

Sarah said...

Yet another reason to support our local farmers and local "small guy/gal" operations. Is there anyone in Spruce Grove area from whom I can buy a 1/4 of a cow? Seriously.

kara said...

If you want some interesting information on the FDA and FTC - read one of Kevin Trudeau's books. Or a book called "The Omnivore's Dilemma." (Can't remember who wrote it - sorry). Scary stuff what we're putting into our bellies. I am SO grateful that my dad raises beef.