Would You Eat Cloned Beef?

It sounds like the plot of a Charlton Heston film from the 70's, but the possibility of meat from cloned livestock has become a reality.

The FDA just released an extensive risk assessment whose aim is "determining whether cloning poses any health risks to the animals involved in the cloning process, and whether any hazards arise during the development of clones or their progeny that may pose food consumption risks" (you can check out the whole PDF file through the LA Times website here). The LA Times also does a good job explaining the technology of the cloning process:

I have no problem with the actual science of cloning, and I'm not particularly disturbed by hysterical forecasts that eating cloned meat will turn our babies into one-eyed monsters. If this is a technological advancement that will truly stabilize the quality of our meat supply, well then, great. But why are research dollars being spent on cloning technology instead of on ways to improve the health and quality of life for the livestock we've already got? I have a feeling that cloned beef is just another tool in the arsenal of the meat industry, a "better-faster-more!!!" approach to food production that focuses on efficiency and profit for large corporations, rather than the health and well-being of animals, farmers, and consumers.

• We recommend checking out The Ethicurean's coverage for more balanced viewpoints on the announcement.
• More information from the FDA can be found here.
• And if you just can't get enough news about advances in cloning technology, well you're in luck, because scientists in San Diego just announced that they have produced embryos that are clones of two men.