The FDA announced yesterday that the administration is on route to approve the use of cloned animals for meat and milk production, as they've found no clear difference between products from cloned animals and normal animals.

No clear difference? Is cloning technology really that good? Well, even if the milk and meat of cloned animals are the same as food from their naturally-bred counterparts, there are some physical differences that may make some consumers question buying clone food.

Cloning technology has brought a few near-perfect replicas of prized cows and sheep into the world in recent years, but it's also led to the creation of hundreds and maybe thousands of animals with inexplicably oversized navels, oddly-shaped heads (cows that have heads shaped like those of bulldogs), malformed arteries, high rates of death among surrogate mothers and babies during birthing, and disorders such as blocked intestines, immune deficiencies and diabetes.

Sounds tasty, don't it?

The FDA thinks so. And so does the cattle industry, which aims to use cloning technology to preserve the genes of prized bulls and cows.

Thankfully, there are forces raining down on the FDA's march towards approval, including consumer groups like the Center for Food Safety, which is calling for labelling of clone food if the technology is approved. Surprisingly, even the dairy industry is making a fuss about the FDA's move, fearful that approval of the technology will make consumers question the wholesomeness of their milk.

Regardless of whether or not the technology is approved, consumers don't have to eat clone food, because there will always be small, sustainable farmers that breed and raise their animals the old-fashioned way.

Sources:
FDA move on cloned food alarms groups (AP October 18, 2006)
FDA Dithers Over Cloned Food (AP, July 11, 2005)
Duplicate Dinner (New Scientist, May 17, 2001)