Burgers from cloned animals 'by 2010'
Pastor Dale Morgan
Burgers from cloned animals 'by 2010'
Send in The Clones
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Last Updated: 12:01am BST 11/07/2007
Humans will be eating meat produced from cloned animals within three
years, scientists predicted yesterday.
A burger - Burgers from cloned animals 'by 2010'
Will burgers come from meat produced from cloned animals?
American farmers are expected to be given the go-ahead to sell beef, pig
and dairy products produced from the offspring of genetic copies by the
end of the decade.
A European Union committee will make its decision based on the same
scientific research used by the US Food and Drug Administration, which
has already concluded that cloned livestock is "virtually
indistinguishable" from other animals.
Scientists yesterday argued there was no evidence of any health problems
linked to the consumption of food created using the technique, and said
British farmers should be allowed to use it to produce cheaper, more
environmentally-friendly meat.
However, campaigners said cloning of agricultural animals should be
banned for both food safety and animal cruelty reasons.
Dr Simon Best, chairman of the BioIndustry Association, said: "I think
it's very likely that millions of Brits will be eating hamburgers or
bacon from cloned animals or their progeny in two or three years, but in
America."
A cloned animal is a genetic copy of another individual from whom a cell
has been taken and placed in an emptied egg.
Animal welfare campaigners say the technique is cruel to animals, both
those that undergo the surgical procedures and the cloned offspring who
suffer high rates of defects and illness such as obesity and
cardiovascular problems.
Nikki Osborne, of the RSPCA, said: "We are totally opposed to the
cloning of animals for food production.
"The process is inefficient, and has a huge potential to cause the
animals involved unnecessary pain, suffering and distress for absolutely
no valid reason."