Reason enough to become a vegetarian

Perhaps a soothing cup of tea? Photo of a Victorian parlour set for tea, the Castle Museum, York, England.

Update: The Washington Post reported today that Americans and others unknowingly may be eating meat from the offspring of clones. Executives from major cattle cloning companies conceded Wednesday that they don't know how many offspring of clones have entered the food supply, despite a longstanding FDA request to keep clone products off the market, pending completion of the agency's safety report.

One Kansas cattle producer said that he has openly sold semen from clones to many U.S. meat producers. Donald Coover, a Galesburg cattleman and veterinarian who has a specialty cattle semen business said it is a "fairy tale that this technology is not being used and is not already in the food chain. "Anyone who tells you otherwise either doesn't know what they're talking about, or they're not being honest," Coover said.

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I find it difficult to accept that the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has decided meat and milk from clones of cattle, pigs and goats and their offspring are "as safe to eat as food from conventionally-bred animals." Further, the FDA, traditionally charged with insuring our food and prescription drugs are safe, has said there's "no need" for special labeling indicating the products are from cloned animals! Shades of Orwell's 1984! And what will this decision mean for America's farmers, already struggling not just to compete in the marketplace, but to survive?

The European Union will not allow any cloned products to be sold without labels identifying them as such. But if the FDA has its way, in American supermarkets shoppers will no longer know if they're buying products from animals or from clones. What has happened to the fair labeling rules that apply to foods, cosmetics, toiletries, cleaning products, as well as prescription and non-prescription drugs? Product ingredients and origin of production are required to clearly be identified to consumers. So why should products of cloned animals be exempt from the same health and safety standards?

The FDA announced their decision on January 15, despite Congressional mandates requiring further testing for safety of cloned products. Last month the Senate passed Farm Bill (H.R. 2419), containing a provision requiring the FDA delay its decision on cloned animals until additional studies can be completed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). To date, only three studies have been conducted on the safety of cloned animals. Two of the studies were run by people who own patents on cloning.

Over 95 percent of cloning attempts fail, resulting in diseased and deformed animals. Obviously, long-term health effects of consuming the “successful” clones are unknown. Many consumer groups, including Farm Sanctuary, the Center for Food Safety, the Consumer Federation of America's Food Policy Institute, Food and Water Watch and The Humane Society have protested the FDA decision, urging further testing.

Some good news: The Agriculture Department said it will adhere to a 2001 voluntary moratorium on sales of cloned products until industry and consumer groups can agree on labeling and marketing restrictions. This means cloned products legally may not reach the U.S. market for years.

Comments

[Pilar]

Thanks for the great info... I'm a vegetarian, but I always try to stay abreast of issues regarding the meat industry. Makes a great argument when someone poo-poos my choice to not eat animals. I wish scientists would focus on using genetic mutations to improve the world (like creating algae for biofuels), and leave cows, pigs, chickens, and humans alone!!

[Scarlett]

Hey there pretty paris lady! I hope you don't mind that I put a link to this post on my "Turning Over a New (Green) Leaf aka "Concsiously Green" blog at http://consciouslygreen.blogspot.com
Check it out - I have some great info links on health & sustainability. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or other links I could add to this page!!!

I hadn't heard about this yet, and I'm not sure what to think....I have been tryin to be totally vegetarian for a while...but the boy cooks with chicken and pork oh and seafood. i personally can't stand to look at or deal with raw meat in any way, so i don't cook it, but i do eat it...hhhhhhmmmm. yeah i'm re-thinkin all this....I would LOVE to live without eating meat....Hhhhmmm.

anyway, THANKS! and hope you have a WONDERFUL WEEKEND!!!

[AnnieElf]

I've been following this like many have. Disturbing development. Unnecessary. Cattle raising provides more than enough. Pointless. But the really shocking thing is that we, at this point, will not know WHAT we are eating.

[Amber]

I KNOW!! Kory and I saw this on the news, and were totally grossed out. Yuck. And I don't GET it...Why would you do that? We have a shortage of cows? and then Kory said that maybe they could clone them to have no legs to walk around, so they just sit and get fed and fat, and then they wouldn't need all the land. LOL! YUCK! Leave it to a science fiction reader. heh

But this is all too much like science fiction to me.

:)

[Pam Aries]

GROSS! I am so grateful to not eat MEAT! Ewwww!

[kris]

I didn't vote for our current president because I knew what we would be getting. When he was governor of Texas they had the worst air and water polution in the country. No surprise he thinks, no pun intended, that we need little or no money for food inspection. U.S. is a very scary place.

[naturegirl]

Tara this news upset me when I heard on the news that we consumers may never know what we eat (((((cloned))))) or other!!!
I have never touched pork or veal to my lips..perhaps it is time I think of becoming a vegetarian! Nice to have you back on line! I am still hobbling so my visits are not as frequent. hugs NG xo

[JanePoe (aka Deborah)]

I've been watching the news on this too & it's scary to think how little we're actually protected. Other recent news on FDA approved cholesteral reducing drugs show little to no improvement & may also facilitate increased plaque buildup in the arteries. I think whomever takes over the presidential helm should seriously look into the integrity and quality of that department.

[My Melange]

Yep. Can you believe this nonsence???? Another example of our country not seeming to care sbout making its citizens ill. This comes on the heals of the accouncement that studies have proven 2 separate cholesteral drugs have NO effect on lowering cholesteral. And by Golley..they were both FDA approved!!! And millions have spent $4 a pill, because they thought they were getting better. So I have no faith in the FDA anymore. And I agree with you....it is a reason to become a vegetarian.

[Catherine]

Just remember "cloned" is not the same as "genetically modified" - yes, it worries me how meat is produced in the US (fortunately New Zealand beef and lamb is still produced the old-fashioned way) - but I still think there is far more to worry about regarding grains and vegetables than meat.
Genetic modification produces organisms that can then reproduce themselves with the modifications intact. Cloning only produces one or a few animals at a time with present technology, and cloned animals do not naturally make new cloned animals. So I can't see the market being flooded with cloned meat - it would be way too expensive.
Similarly, all foods contain "chemicals" and nothing but "chemicals". Every substance that exists is a chemical. We should be concerned about toxins, whether artificial or natural, but not chemicals.
Oh, and some certified organic foods can be dangerous, if crops are selected for natural pest resistance - they do it by having raised levels of the natural substances that make them unpalatable to bugs, ie toxins.
But yes, there should be more information in food packaging - I would agree with you there.

[tinker]

We have been eating less and less meat - for more and more reasons...

[forgetfulone]

Maybe I will join some of my husband's side of the family and become a vegetarian! The thought of this is just... gross!

[Michele]

Hi Tara,

I really enjoy your passion about political issues. You are quite right aboout what the FDA is up to. They want to be able to keep the public as uninformed as possible as they feed us genetically engineered fruits vegetables dairy and meat. Its all about the lack of laws the would regulate the inductries. In the abscence of a law that prohibits FDA from non disclosure of the source of the meat they can do it. A law to prohibit FDA's wreckless ness is what we need. The perfect man for this job is Senator John Edwards. He is not going to make president but he is a kick ass lawyer with the will to take on FDA :) and that is his real gift. He is a lawyer who likes to fight :) As for me i have been creeped out by meat for some time now. I always try to buy as fresh as possible and never some cheap wierd packaging etc. I like to shop at a store that is more about chemical free pesticide free etc. I would rather eat a chicken that got to run around the farm and peck at a few bugs and had a little fun in its life :)

By the way my son loved Paris and in fact he is going to take French lessons and German. He says he definitely is "going back" but he may not know that i will be stoaway in his suitcase:)

loved you article
regards,
michele

the crafty cameleon bolgspot

[Amy]

Nothing you've said would surprise me at all. Yet another reason why I would love to become self sufficient in what we eat.

[jzr]

The biggest shame here is that so many people BELIEVE what they are told! Thing have gotten so bad that I don't believe much of anything that comes from government agencies. We need to take care of ourselves. This government is all about greed and money.

[holli]

oh my DEAR LORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and Faith and I only just had the "meat comes from animals" talk today. this has to be some sort of fate.

eeek and yuck... and I'm constantly amazed at how much news I get from your blog, Tara.

love and hugs.

[Tammy]

Why do we need to clone beef? Are cows becoming extinct? This reminds me of the futuristic movie "Soylent Green" from 1973 where they turned our elderly into crackers. Scary.

[betheanne]

all righty , another corporate greed based coverup in the usa- I can not say I am surprised,really! I ate only organic while living there and met with medical directors of baby formula companies to URGE them to introduce oragnic products when moms absolutely couldnot provide breast milk-I did this because their chemists could not assure me that my patients were not receiving synthetic hormones or pesticide redsidues-well,needless to say they did not want any cancer-surviving pediatrician to challenge them and eventually someone did create an organic alternative! and yes, I had my tea in Toulouse ,much needed to ward off my nagging distain for bush's current antics in the Middle East -helllloooo! what is it 369 days left?merci for the meat update and tea time too! thankful for living in France where food is paramount.

[Mary T.]

Yep! You said it best!

[Merisi's Vienna for Beginners]

I do not buy meats that are not labeled organic.
In the Eighties it was still very hard to get organic beef and chickens in the D.C. area, I had to order it from a farmer in Chantilly, Virginia. They sold their products frozen, delivering once a week. Now of course there are Whole Foods (Fresh Fields) and other sources there. Here in Austria meat labels have to include the name and address of the producer, still, I buy only organic. I want to support the farmers who care enough about our food to go that extra mile making sure it's as safe as possible.

[studio wellspring]

ergh ~ this makes me shudder!

[Colette]

I'm almost a vegetarian now becasue of all the stuff they feed animals. However, when it comes to clones, count me out. I will not touch it.

Tea time - so civilized!

[marita]

you're absolutely right tara! no junk for me either.
people should boycot descisions about our daily needs.
concerning our food i have become very critical in the past decade. i don't trust anybody in this matter and certainly not big supermarkets. always looking on the contents of packages, chemical food coloring, unnatural added elements etc. i do pay attention to all of it very much!
for years i buy my fruits and veggies at an old farm house nearby, run by the same family for generations. i know for sure i'm eating healthy food.
meat is different, very picky and the todays conditions of animals and treatment of cattle just makes me vomit.
so, slowly changing habits. we don't eat meat every day and preparing more and more vegetarian dishes.
i'm sure one day we're done for good with eating meat or trash.

[kristen]

It's so gross. And there should be no question why young girls of 9 and 10 are starting their periods. I try to buy organic as much as possible - but I'm sure there's a whole host of vile things polluting all the products that I use. I try to be very careful with my kid, but it's frightening.

[Carla]

That is absolutely horrific. Yuck. I better get busy and start sending letters to the appropriate people here in Canada. The US usually tries to bully us to follow suit with them. But luckily they weren't able to get their BST milk into Canada. Although we do have GMO foods which really bothers me. Thanks for making me aware of this.

[Tracy]

I'm thankful every day that I'm vegan, but I was even more grateful after reading about cloned animals.

The U.S. government and the meat and dairy industries have their hands in each other's pockets. It's disgusting to learn what Americans are already consuming in the animal flesh and milk they eat and drink.

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Like animals? http://www.chooseveg.com/vegetarians-save-lives.asp
Wanna lose weight? http://www.chooseveg.com/obesity.asp
Care about the environment? http://www.chooseveg.com/global-warming.asp

[Christine]

I think that you can have some level of control over the meat you buy even without direct labeling. I only purchase products from organic, all natural food stores and thoroughly research the products I buy. There are advocacy groups that distribute alot of info. What will be difficult to control is eating out at restaurants or processed meats; anything that is needed in bulk quanities.

My family has stopped eating beef, pork and lamb and farm raised fish. I only purchase organic produce, chicken, turkey and dairy products that are labeled properly. It is expensive, but we tend to eat less due to the richness of the food. It is already difficult to eat at other people's homes and with cloning I think it will get worse. Now, I will have to ask what are you serving and is it cloned?

But I think there are larger issues about cloning that no one seems to be discussing. The patenting of animal genetics, the real reason for doing this (if the reason is to feed a growing human population, how about controlling it) and philosophical and ethical issues. The food industry already treats animals as machines, but this puts it on a whole new level.

[Catherine]

Actually, we've been eating cloned animals for years. A twin is a clone. I'm much more concerned about genetically modified crops than about cloned animals. And they've been doing that in the US for years.

[ss_sputnik972]

I am already 98% vegetarian. And when I heard this news my stomach ached. I said the same words to my husband - now I am really going to be vegetarian! This is sick news. How do they know its safe, long term? Bleck on the FDA and cloning meat!

[Pipian7]

This makes my skin crawl....the FDA certainly doesn't have our health in mind or it would not even consider allowing this into our food supply. In fact, I think this agency is a disgrace and a complete overhaul of their standards are hopefully expressed and put into place with our next President. Just disgusted with the whole mess. God Bless America!

[GoGo]

So, cloning only became possible less than 10 years ago, right? I can only assume the FDA/Legislature are motivated by money and power. Who would okay cloned meat without labels unless the person trying to sell it paid them off.

I'm still heading to London, FYI. I'm in the process now of applying through a recruitment program for work sponsorship as a social worker. Its estimated I'll be there by the end of summer. Yeah! Though I'd keep you posted.

~GoGo

[Apt.A {berriehead}]

IT is extremely scary Tara...not only with food but like the above poster stated...shit is in our everyday products...it's no wonder cancer is out of control....but how in the world do we ever know really what is inside? Even when they say organic or free range blah blah blah....would we really know for sure.....it is not fair that those supposed safer items are so costly either....cloned cattle for food purposes makes me want to vomit...do we really need it? don't we have enough meat already?...we need to stop messing around with what is not broken!

[stephanie]

We are..again...so far behind other countries in our standards. Have you heard of the book Skinny Bitch in the Kitch? It's been on my must read list for a while, I hear that after reading this you will want to become a vegan!

[Karen DeGroot Carter]

Tofu sounds really good right about now!

[kim]

This is another thing for which we can thank the Bu$h administration. They have sided with industry and relaxed FDA regulations. I eat very little meat as it is and you can be sure that I will only buy local meat products -- organic and free range. And I'm glad I don't live in the US anymore so I don't have to worry so much about this stuff.

[ally bean]

Cloned meat is just plain creepy to me. I don't want it and as you said, it does make one reconsider vegetarianism. Or at least, almost vegetarianism-- if there is such a thing.

[Dargie]

It's nuts. We live in what is increasingly a nanny state which seeks to tell us how to live and even how to think, but the most basic protections are systematically being removed from our lives. The only reasonable alternatives for American consumers is to do a load of homework and in some cases pay premium prices for "safe" products.

What little meat I buy comes from sources certified organic, free-range, hormone-free, blah blah blah. I've also begun to make my own personal care and housecleaning items. It's crazy that we should have to do that much work to ensure safety. And not everyone has the resources to make safer choices.

We're poisoning ourselves, we're poisoning our planet. Sometimes I think that if we all disappeared tomorrow it would be no great loss to the universe.

[rochambeau]

YUCK!! Also, I learned recently that the US has no regulations on what carcinogens go into makeup, lotion, shampoo, etc. Where as in France they DO have regulations!!!!!!