Would You Drink Milk from a Cloned Cow?
By
Frederic J. Frommer - Associated Press
Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- As
the Food and Drug Administration considers
whether to lift a voluntary ban on selling
food from cloned animals, the agency is
getting some resistance from an unusual
source: the dairy industry.
Trade groups for farmers and companies
that use dairy products are not enthusiastic
about introducing milk from cloned cows
into the marketplace, fearing consumers
would be leery about the products.
"There's a strong general feeling
among our members that consumers are not
receptive to milk from cloned cows,''
said Susan Ruland, a spokeswoman for the
International Dairy Foods Association,
which represents food manufacturers that
use dairy products.
Cloning is the creation of an animal from
the DNA of a single parent to create an
offspring genetically identical to the
parent.
"This seems to be one of the things
where technology seems to drop something
in the lap of the food companies,'' Ruland
said in a recent interview. "It's
not driven by the market or any benefit
to the consumer.''
A 2002 Gallup poll found that 66 percent
of American consumers said that cloning
animals was "morally wrong.'' A March
survey by the International Food Information
Council, an industry trade group, reported
that 63 percent of consumers would likely
not buy food from cloned animals, even
if the FDA determined the products were
safe.
Last month, the National Milk Producers
Federation, representing dairy farmers,
approved a position statement that it
"does not at this time support milk
from cloned cows entering the marketplace
until FDA determines that milk from cloned
cows is the same as milk from conventionally
bred animals.''
Because cloning a cow is expensive, about
$20,000, selling meat from a clone wouldn't
be financially viable. The main commercial
benefit would be to sell milk from the
clone of a prized cow, or for breeding
purposes.
The dairy groups' position is at odds
with the biotechnology industry and the
small number of farmers who have invested
in cloning cows.
Barb Glenn, director of animal biotechnology
at the Biotechnology Industry Organization,
predicted that cloning will benefit both
consumers and producers. "With any
new technology, you'll have groups concerned
about it,'' she said.
Bob Schauf, a dairy farmer from Barron,
Wis., about 90 miles east of Minneapolis,
cloned his prize-winning Holstein about
four years ago, making four copies --
one of which died because of complications
while calving earlier this year.
Schauf called the ban "ridiculous.
It's a phobia more than anything scientific.
We need to get FDA to come along and say
it's fine.
They're as normal as any other animal.
Common sense has to take over soon.''
Because the FDA has asked farmers not
to sell products from cloned animals,
Schauf feeds the milk to his family and
employees. He said he has other elite
cows that he'd like to clone but has held
off because of the government action.
In 2003, the FDA issued a summary of its
draft risk assessment, which found that
food from cloned animals was probably
as safe as that from non-cloned animals.
But it asked farmers to refrain from selling
products from cloned animals until a final
determination is made.
Earlier this year, a study by the Center
for Regenerative Biology at the University
of Connecticut found that meat and milk
from cloned animals is essentially identical
to that of non-cloned animals.
Aside from the health issues are questions
about animal welfare, because cloned animals
die in higher numbers during pregnancy
and right after birth. A National Academy
of Sciences panel looking at cloning raised
the issue in a 2002 report.
The Humane Society of the United States
urged the FDA to keep the ban in place.
In a letter June 28, President Wayne Pacelle
wrote that cloning "carries too high
a cost with regard to animal suffering,
yet offers little benefit to humans and
animals alike.''
Greg Wiles, a dairy farmer in Hagerstown,
Md., has made two clones from a prolific
Holstein. One is healthy, but the other
suffers from health problems that Wiles
declined to specify.
"I have said the FDA is more than
welcome to get any blood or tissue samples,''
Wiles said. "I think it needs to
be looked into.''
Wiles said he often thinks about disregarding
the ban and selling the milk, which he
now pours down the drain. "I think
the FDA has taken too long to determine
if it's safe or not,'' he said.
The FDA declined an interview request
for this story, saying in a statement
that it would be "premature to discuss
our findings or to make any final determinations
due to the complexity of the issue.''
It added that the agency does not have
a timeframe for a final decision.
One of the cutting-edge animal cloning
companies, Infigen of DeForest, Wis.,
ceased operations last year while waiting
for the FDA to issue such a decision.
At the time, Infigen blamed delays in
federal grants and funding cutbacks by
a partner. But the company's co-founder
and president, Michael Bishop, said the
FDA delay was a fatal blow.
"It's hard to find people who want
to do business with you when a government
agency could possibly regulate against
the food products entering the food chain,''
Bishop said. He predicted that cloning
will never become viable for commercial
livestock.
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