Wednesday, December 18, 2013

"Europe to miss out on cloned meat as EU Commission imposes ban"

From City A.M:

The European Commission has adopted two draft laws banning the sale, import and marketing of cloned meat in the European Union.
The Commission adopted the proposals due to concerns over animal welfare and ethical issues surrounding the controversial technology.

The EU commissioner responsible for health, Tonio Borg said:
Today's initiatives on animal cloning respond to animal welfare concerns as well as consumer perceptions on food from animal clones in a realistic and workable way. The changes on novel food will create a more efficient system. It will offer EU consumers the benefit of a broad choice of foodstuffs and provides a favourable environment for Europe's food industry. 
Cloning will be allowed to continue only for purposes such as research, conservation of rare breeds and endangered species or use of animals for the production of pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
The European Commission's response to the technology seems at best an overreaction given the risks associated with cloned meat. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found in January 2008 that meat and milk from cloned animals, such as cattle, pigs and goats, are as safe as those from non-cloned animals....MORE
Fun Fact: 

Dolly, the Scottish sheep that was the world's first known-who knows what the Swiss were up to- cloned mammal, was named for an American country-western singer:
...On Dolly's name, Wilmut stated "Dolly is derived from a mammary gland cell and we couldn't think of a more impressive pair of glands than Dolly Parton's".
-Dolly face closeup.jpg
Dolly's taxidermied remains