Cloned Cow Causing Worldwide Ruckus

Some guy from Wisconsin decided to have his prized cow cloned, and now the entire world is in an uproar. Varying authorities are trying to reassure citizens the world over that cloned beef and cloned milk are safe for consumption.

Well, maybe it is, maybe it isn’t…my concern is that the FDA lies to us about everything else, so why should we trust them AT ALL? Many countries have stopped buying food products from the United States because of all the growth hormones and artificial additives. If there isn’t anything wrong with cloned meat, why can’t they require labeling so we have the choice to buy products that are not cloned if we want?

Besides, it has been proven that even though the food industry states that things like high fructose corn syrup and rBGH and other genetically modified additives are safe, it’s been proven that they aren’t! They LIED to us!!! If genetically altered additives are unsafe, why would genetically altered animals be safe to eat?

Another concern I have is that this is America, the land of the free…we are supposed to be able to have the freedom to make our own decisions. The FDA is telling companies that they’re not allowed to label products that contain growth hormones…and that they don’t have to label products that are cloned. Isn’t that taking away our right to choose? Some may think it’s OK to eat cloned beef and drink milk from a cloned cow; others don’t, or are unsure. They should have the OPTION to buy whichever they want, not play a dangerous game of Russian roulette with their health.

How are cows cloned?

Here’s another question for you: WHY are we cloning cows? Merely to say that we can? There is not a shortage of cows, so there isn’t any reason to. The cost of cloning a cow is around $17,000, while the cost of purchasing a beef calf is only around $400-600 (according to WikiAnswers).

I have in my mind this picture of an assembly line type of setup and the cows are popping up, one after the other, from some type of ray gun (too many cartoons as a kid!) In reality, DNA is inserted into an egg taken from a cow, then implanted.

The most common procedure is known as somatic cell nuclear transfer, which makes it possible to produce many animals from a single donor. The nucleus of a donor egg is removed and replaced with the DNA of the animal to be cloned. A tiny electric jolt stimulates cell division, creating an embryo that is a copy of the original animal. It’s implanted into a surrogate mother.  Source – Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel

Multiple animals from one donor…hmmm…they’d have to be making at least 30 animals per donor to make it worth it.

This idea really doesn’t sit well with me. Not genetically altered? I don’t think so…it was jolted with electricity to start the cell division, and who’s to say what that jolt of electricity did to the DNA, or the entire molecular structure?

I’m really interested in what others think about this.