I was recently reading Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore Dilemma. The chapter on CAFOs and corn-fed cows getting sick was pretty brutal to me.

Clones or not, factory farming can't go on like that.

I don't care if I'm eating a clone or not. Or meat from a vat if it is like "real" meat.

How about we stop finding new animals to kill and ruthlessly exploit and concentrate on creating technology to improve organic vegetable and fruit standards.

Whether or not cloned flesh and milk is safe, we can be assured that these animals will suffer even greater than those alive now do suffer in these giant feedlots and factory farms. Cloned animals suffer from numerous health problems, and in addition to that there is an immense amount of killing and suffering in the newborns who won't live for more than a few hours or days.

This is a prime example of the evils of industrial agribusiness. Only large corporations are able to afford and produce these animals and impose their "technology" on small farmers by tell ing them their profits will improve.

Soon there will be a universal standard that rids society of diversity--a radicalized monoculture production. For those concerned with going back to animal husbandry and family farms, this will be less likely. Already we are losing enormous amounts of genetic diversity in our crops and animals. First GMOs and now clones. This is just one step closer toward cows that are milked for drugs.

This will also affect grocers and small farmers. Having these new standards will convince consumers that anything "less" or "different" isn't worthy of their consumer dollar. Grocers will put more limitations on their already enormously strict purchase quotas that will make it more difficult for smaller farms and businesses to sell their products.

Even so, the last thing farmed animals, the Earth, humans, and taxpayers need is a higher consumption of animal flesh and products that continue to come at the expense of others health.

"reports indicate that the food from cloned animals is as safe as the food we eat every day."

Now there's cause for alarm.

I agree with SomeGuy; this statement would infer that cloning has been going on for some time and the research is in. I shudder at the very thought. I myself am not for cloning for any purpose. The current treatment of animals is bad enough.

I'm so glad I am a consumer - now even the food chain is being redesigned for the benefit of my tastebuds and convenience!!

I support this development. I will now be able to have the "level of consistency and quality" in pork that I didn't even know I needed or indeed wanted!

Something...did trouble me for a minute about this, but then I realised nah, I deserve this. Because i'm worth it!!!!

I can't imagine how cloning could be profitable so soon. From what I've read, most clones end up with serious deformities, before they clone an animal that is "normal". Not to mention that apparently cloned animals have a shorter lifespan than normal animals, because cloned cells have their cellular "clock" shortened. (From what I've heard.)

I figure, why bother. Raise livestock for a local market, and treat them well (organically, etc), and I bet you'll have meat that knocks the socks off of even cloned animals with "consistant marbleing" (what a crock).

Cloned animals are just like any other animal, except there is no genetic diversity in the population. There is a reason we have sex, it is because nature has found that genetic diversity is a good thing for continuation of a species. Humans have been cloning their favorite plants for thousands of years, and in the end the clone dies off due to some disease that the homogeneous population can't combat. I think the larger issue pressing here is why bother cloning at all? Is it for increased production? Do we need to clone to produce cheaper/better milk and meat? I think the larger influence is the environment of the cow, or animal. Kobe beef is tasty not because of the genetics, but because they get messages and beer. Grass fed cows make milk healthier, not because the animal makes it that way, but because grass is a better diet for the cow then corn. Clones are a marketing device, and I think farmers will see right through it- the question is, will the public?

brought to you by Monsanto corperation.

This has to be the doing of companies such as formentioned. I dont see how even people in the industry of factory farming would see the need for cloning. The animals do it for free! The money needed to clone one animal i would assume would be substantial. Who sells the technology for cloning? No doubt the biotech industry. Just another market niche it seems, not started out of necessity but started out of the want to make more money. I am reminded of those plastic liners you can get for your slowcooker, it just doesn't make any sense.

I just wonder what would happen to the food chain assuming this comes to pass and all clones are the same with the same vulnerabilities. An alergy or something similar comes along and whipes out the entire food lot, could happen.

I love meat

More info.
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/64b99082cc73d010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

According to evolutionary biologists, the primary purpose for the mechanism of randomizing genetic characteristics by combining 2 genomes at random (otherwise known as sex) is to allow a species to keep ahead of its parasites. Genetic uniformity guarantees that this genetic "arms race' will be lost in a generation or two.

Biological mechanisms (like that bothersome sexual reporuductive cycle) persist because there is a survival advantage to them. Otherwise, asexual reproduction (basically self-cloning) would be the norm rather than than a infinitesimal exception.

eeewwwww!

I love meat and I'm sure that a cloned animals meat is the same as a normal produced through sex animals meat. I see no cause for alarm there.

That being said I'm bothered by the problems of overall animal health when the genetic diversity is lowered that much more. (they already breed many cows from the same bull).

Lets just forgo the cow
http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/scitech/release.cfm?ArticleID=1098

I think the word was eeewwwww! Growing meat from a vat is that much more wrong. We'll have nothing left but processed glop if this keeps up.

It it looks and tastes the same, what's the big deal? It could potentially be more environmentally friendly and healthier.

I keep thinking of the time my wife had me try a boca burger. Sure it tasted like meat but the texture aka "mouth feel" was way off. I didn't enjoy it.

Like most foods that you discover after childhood, you need to eat it a few times to get used to it. It's just different.

As someone who turned vegetarian overnight (and it's one of the best decisions of my life), I can tell you that it's a lot easier than you might think to get used to new things. We tend to over-estimate the negative impacts of most things...

Look out the end of conventional breeding is over!! The world is damaged!!
What happens when some person says "I need an army of slave men who will not think."
Now I know that sounds pretty extreme but that is what this sort of thing is leading to