You probably heard the announcement somewhere that the FDA opened the door for food products from cloned animals. More than likely what you read or heard was followed by some official assurances that there is no difference and it is perfectly safe.

In fact it is not identical and as far as safety goes, the whole issue is filled with concerns from what science does know, as well as what we do not yet know. The headline here was taken from the reaction by the Center for Food Safety in response to the FDA's action. Boy, oh boy, if there's a way to do something we don't need, that puts public health in a back seat, way behind corporate profits, it seems the FDA is ready to take action.

When it comes to being careful and cautious and erring on the side of consumers there's no recent indication the FDA is particularly interested.

The press releases were all quick to note how expensive these animals are and mention that there was little chance of us eating a clone soon but the question then is what's the hurry to approve them for eating if there really isn't a plan to make the be food.

My own feeling is that this is the same thing I would do when my children were little and I held the lollipop for them as the nurse prepared the vaccine. While they were distracted by looking at the one thing we had plans deliver another.

By tossing the high cost into the coverage it lets people know in an official way that it's possible and also that there will be no labeling requirements.

Then the money is added as if to make sure we don't think to worry about it. The very same thing happened with the hormone dairy and a lesser extent with the gmo foods.

One little blurb so the officials can take umbrage in having made the public aware and then when no one is looking a bit later later, in comes the shot as planned.

So what is it we need to worry about, in addition to the eww yuck factor, that hits us all as very icky? The short list of problems for clones include birth defects and high mortality rates that have very few clones even healthy enough to survive.

Those points by themselves are Nature's way of saying, things humans can't see and don't know are very wrong with the new life. These are the laws of Nature that have continued the cycle of life from the dawn of time. The healthy grow to reproduce and the sickly do not survive.

Now it's usually the Congress that races ahead and does what industry wants and the heck with the science. But in this case the Senate voted twice for additional testing and investigations by the National Academies of Science. The very reason they did was because there are so many concerns for safety but the FDA ignored the Congress.

It's a puzzle to me who is running the show in Washington as the Congress is supposed to be the lawmaking body and control the funding for the Nation and Agencies are not supposed to go off will nilly and just do whatever they want.

Surveys show the vast majority of consumers don't want to eat cloned meat and milk products. The review from Center for Food Safety shows us the testing that was done is flawed which is not surprising since it was paid for by the biotech companies who stand to profit from it.

If that's not a recipe for mistrusting the results then there are the actual results that make the scientists worry about safety. Theres a full review at the CFS site but I'll add just a link to the study CFS below and emphasize the bigger point that is the same with the genetically altered foods. Why is a biotech company deciding what I swallow?

If we are free people and live in a free country, why isn't it our right to choose what we eat? When the Senate and the National Academies of Science can't be heard in addition to the 30,000 letters that were sent in to protest who runs America? Why is biotech getting the control of the food supply?

What are we paying in health and safety to have their income as the main factor that determines what we swallow? Isn't it time to start asking our Members of Congress to stand up for us?

Why do we have Senators running for President and claiming they will find ways to bring about changes in government and protect us when they can't even find a way to lead the Senate to protect our right to swallow what we choose?  Read more here.

For the sake of appearing balanced the FDA statements http://www.fda.gov/cvm/cloning.htm

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