News & Media :: Daily Log
In the News
Aug 5, 2010
The meat from two cloned dairy cattle has illegally entered the food supply in the U.K., setting off a media frenzy and strong reactions among consumers, retailers, and critics of the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
The MailOnline tracked down the source of the cloned animals sent to slaughter, and reported August 5, 2010 that the Inverness farmer, Steven Innes (see picture, photo credit "Reuters") and his father have 96 calves sired by a cloned bull on their dairy farm, the largest in Scotland (1,400 Holsteins).
According to the MailOnline "all big supermarkets made clear they would not touch milk or meat from cloines or their descendants."
A number of groups are pressuring the government and FSA to ban animal cloning and block the import of bull semen and embryos from cloned cows in North America.
The FSA has reported that it has "no idea how many clone descendant animals are present on British farms."
The animal welfare and food safety problems inherent in animal cloning are discussed in detail in a TOC "Critical Issue Report" by Jim Riddle entitled Is the FDA's Cloning Proposal Ready for Prime Time?. Access the 26-page full report and six-page summary on the Center's website.
Based on Riddle's assessment of the science on the success of cloning, impacts on surrogate mothers, and the high frequency of severe deformities and health problems in cloned off spring, Riddle's conclusion is "No," the FDA's proposal to essentially de-regulate animal cloning is not ready for prime time.
