[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2008/images/01/16/art.cow.fut.gi.jpg caption=" Africa's first cloned cow named Fut (meaning replica or repeat in Zulu ) is on show to the media in the small town of Brits, 65km northwest of Johannesburg.."]
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Consumer and animal rights groups are up in arms over a ruling from the food and drug administration.
Yesterday, the FDA said food from cloned animals and their offspring is safe to eat... As safe as food from non-cloned animals. We're talking meat and milk from cows, goats and pigs here. The FDA also said it's not necessary to label foods from cloned animals as such.
The announcement follows seven years of research.
But some groups say more study is needed and that food containing ingredients from cloned animals should be labeled as such so consumers can choose not to buy it.
The FDA says regulators can't require that these products be specially-labeled because there is no difference between them and food produced by the regular kind of animals. Clone means identical.
Right now cloning costs thousands of dollars per animal birth, so chances are you won't be dining on any cloned meat any time soon.
Here’s my question to you: Should the government require that labels say if ingredients come from cloned animals?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Brian from New York writes:
Of course the FDA should require that labels indicate whether meat is sourced from cloned animals. Until there is absolute, definitive proof that this meat does not cause any health problems in humans or pets that consume it, the labels should indicate the source. Why take the risk otherwise?
Juanita writes:
A cow is a cow, no matter how it started. We start new human life with the help of test tube technology. Why does it matter the animal's pedigree? I agree there is no difference in the finished product and have no qualms about using any cloned product.
Lauren writes:
I think that the majority of Americans who would purchase the cloned meat products do not have a clear understanding of the process. "Clone" to an average American implies a science project dripping of chemicals from a lab where all the scientists where white suits. The fact of the matter is that the meat is exactly the same as the animal it was cloned from.
Victor from Roxboro, N.C. writes:
Jack, if milk and other companies were smart, they would start putting their own labels on their products, such as, "Our cows are not cloned." Or "We do not use cloned cows." This would be a way to tell people what they are getting and also circumvent the government’s ruling.
Aisha from Miami, Florida writes:
Artificial cows equal artificial burgers. I'd like to know whether I was getting the real deal or not.
Syndi from Danville, Virginia writes:
I definitely think the government should include a warning on cloned meat. They can’t even keep things like spinach safe, and they expect me to believe that just because they declare a cloned animal safe for consumption, that I will feed it to my kids. No way!
Bruce writes:
The good part of this is you can have the same steak every year on your birthday, and when you get a good cut of beef, you can order it over and over again. I think I'm ready to go vegetarian.