Summary
The FDA has backed the use of cloned animal foods despite the objections of lawmakers, consumer groups, and consumers. The decision appears to be based primarily on economic and political factors.
Analysis
The FDA has backed the use of cloned cows, pigs, goats, and their offspring for use as foods in the US food supply. This decision came despite the protests of lawmakers, consumer groups, and consumers. The Agriculture Department said it will keep in place a "2001 voluntary moratorium on the sales of such products until industry groups agree on marketing and labeling restrictions". Tyson Foods, and other companies, have said they will not use cloned foods anytime soon.
The FDA decision appears to be based on economic factors. Economic factors important to government and major corporations, but not to the health of consumers. Food prices are rising, a result of the rise in commodity prices, devaluation of the dollar, and supply and demand factors related to both population and demand for food. World food prices are of even greater concern than food prices within the USA for reasons of supply and demand.
FDA approval of cloned meats is a step in the rise of mass production or factory farms in the meat industry. Previous to the 1990's, in the 1980's and before, it is interesting to note that all ranching was done in the free range style. Thus the term free range would apply to all meats previous to 1980. The introduction of factory farming, and the cruelties, and poor health standards that came with it, are the reason for the rise of free range labeled meat products, as without modern factory farms, all meats would have been free range, and the need to label was unnecessary.
Rising food prices have always been a threat to government stability. Do you remember the Biblical story in which the Pharaoh was faced with public discontent due to grain shortages, and Joseph handed out free grain to the people, leading to his rise to power in Egypt. Economic rules, and the desire for government survival have not changed. The fact is that high food prices are a threat to government stability, and the next stage in economic instability after the rise in gold and energy is shortage of food supply and rising food prices.
More obvious to the consumer. Go to the supermarket, the price of beans has doubled since last year. The price of milk, corn, grains, sugar, and cereals are all rising. Right now the price of meats, livestock, especially cattle and pork are low, but as the grains used to feed animals, continue to increase in price, so will the costs associated with meats in the local supermarket.
This decision by the FDA will be a definite plus for the health food industry. Consumers understand that eating free range meats is healthier than eating factory or mass produced meats. Ranchers and farmers will tell you the difference on both taste and health factors. Doctors will also tell you the difference between naturally bred and cloned meats.
The consumer knows that it is healthier to eat meats and milks that are hormone free, and that are raised in a free range style, instead of mass produced and hormone injected foods. Despite FDA approval of hormones in milk and meat, the consumer knows that it is not healthy to eat these additives. This has given a large boost to the organic and health food industries. The use of cloned meats will just serve to increase the flight of the consumer away from mass produced foods to healthier organic and natural produce.
Companies, such as Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's will benefit from the introduction of cloned meats, as consumers continue to move toward organic produce. Free range and organic farmers and producers/manufacturers, and distributors of organic meats and foods will continue to prosper, especially as organic industries increase in size allowing costs to decrease.
Despite the FDA decision, companies as Tyson, Dean, and Smithfield Foods do not foresee the use of cloned meats in the near future. Even the researchers who cloned Dolly have concerns that eating food from cloned animals may be unsafe, as Dolly was subject to increased disease.
There are also the ethical issues to be considered. This is a large subject so I will not become involved other to say that it is unethical to expose humans to foods that may be unsafe, and to question the ethics of the use of living animals for cloning and in mass production factory farming.
Another final concern is the public lack of confidence in the decisions of the FDA. The FDA deserves a lot of credit, but many of its decisions concerning mass produced foods and additives are politically motivated, and the consumer knows it. Thus when the FDA issues a decision as it has regarding cloned meats, the consumer responds with an opposite reaction.
