So the announcement by the USFDA that there will be no restrictions or required notifications on cloned meat and milk, has some people north of the border asking questions about what Canada's stance will be on cloned animal products.
Some have suggested that Canada would be wise to require labelling, simply to distinguish itself from US products for people who might not want to eat cloned meat. We really do have an aversion to anything that we don't imagine is naturally made, don't we? Considering how many of the things we use and consume in our lives that have been touched by some kind of technology, some kind of invention that humans have dreamed up to make our lives better, it really is surprising the reluctance we have - as a group - to accept things that have been modified by technology, particularly when those things are animals or human beings. We have less fear of robots than genetically modified humans, less fear of gadgets than we do of cloned animals. No wonder many cultures have had a fear of twins.
Of course as far as I'm concerned, I would eat cloned or non-cloned food - most of it would depend on whether it was on sale or not! I don't even have a problem with GMOs (genetically modified organisms), at least not in theory. I do have a problem with the economics of genetically engineering foodstuffs, like monoculture, patenting and the kind of extortion that a company like Monsanto can get away with.
Some observers have noted that cloning is still so expensive that it is unlikely it will be used for mass production of meat products. Cloning may be used as a breeding tool - to ensure the continuation of genetically superior breeding stock - but it is unlikely that we'll be eating cloned meat anytime soon.
For me, taste and cost are the primary driving factors in my food purchasing decisions, not where the food originated from. As long as the animal is healthy, I really don't care how similar it might be to any other one.
