Cloned beef coming to the US? FDA approved its “safety” years ago

Formerly employed with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, researcher Xu Xiaochun intends to revolutionize the way humans consume meat, beginning in China, where he and his colleagues are masterminding the construction of the world’s largest cloning factory.

Cloned food products could hit the U.S. market next as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) already declared the meat perfectly “safe” eight years ago.

Once China’s cloning factory is complete, scientists say they’ll be able to clone one million cows per year by 2020, according to reports. Xiaochun, who received his education in the U.S. and Canada, says humans are next, adding that he’s already in possession of the technology to clone them, but is holding back due to the public’s unwillingness to accept the technology based on morality.^[1]

Reproductive cloning, which is what China plans to do, involves the removal of a mature somatic cell (such as a skin cell) from an animal before the DNA is inserted into an egg cell that’s had its DNA-containing nucleus removed, explains Genome.gov. After developing into an early-stage embryo in a test tube, it’s then implanted into the womb of an adult female animal.^[2]

“This beef definitely must first be saved just for the central government leaders”

Cloning genetically identical “super-cattle” is necessary to accommodate China’s growing middle class, says Xiaochun, who promises the beef will taste just like Kobe – a breed of cattle raised in Japan that are fed beer and massaged with sake while enjoying classical music.

Although scientists have not explained how, they insist that cloning cattle will allow butchers to “slaughter less and produce more.” However, not everyone is on board. Many voiced their concerns on social media, tweeting that they’d like to see China’s leaders try the meat first.

People are also concerned, considering China isn’t exactly the poster child for food safety standards. Still struggling with pollution, Beijing was recently forced to close hundreds of factories and schools amid a smog outbreak in which concentrations of harmful microscopic particles capable of penetrating the lungs were more than 25 times the maximum level of exposure recommended by the World Health Organization.^[3]

Stem cell research group Boyalife is working in conjunction with its South Korean partner Sooam Biotech and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to advance cloning technology. The cloning factory is being built in China and not South Korea, due to a “bioethics law that prohibits the use of human eggs.”

Another concern about the new technology is that its pioneers aren’t exactly keen on following the law. Sooam Biotech’s founder, Woo-suk Hwang, was convicted in 2009 of embezzling research funds and illegally buying human eggs for his research, reports CBS News, causing him to lose his university position after two major papers of his were retracted in 2005.^[4]

“We have decided to locate the facilities in China in case we enter the phase of applying the technology to human bodies,” Hwang said.

EU bans cloned animals, while FDA endorses its safety

Known for their rigorous food safety standards, the European Union won’t be seeing cloned meat on its market any time soon. The European parliament already backed a plan to ban cloned animals and products in the food chain, but the U.S., however, is much more open to the technology.

Meat and milk from cow, pig and goat clones and the offspring of any animal clones “are as safe as food we eat every day,” said the FDA in 2008, following “an intensive evaluation” that examined the safety of food from these animals, as well as the risk to animal health.^[5]

The question of whether or not cloned beef will be properly labeled remains unclear; however, if it’s treated anything like genetically modified organisms (GMOs), it doesn’t look good for consumers and will likely become the topic of a much heated debate if and when the technology reaches U.S. markets.

China’s new factory will clone pets, monkeys, cattle and maybe even humans

Cloning technology in China’s new factory won’t be limited to cattle, but will also be used to clone racehorses, pets, police dogs and monkeys used for animal testing. Individuals wanting to clone a beloved pet are required to fork up to $100,000.

The facility will also “house a gene bank capable of holding up to approximately five million cell samples frozen in liquid nitrogen,” reports Yahoo News, and “a catalogue of the world’s endangered species for future regeneration.”

Sooam Biotech is already working on an experiment aimed at bringing back to life a woolly mammoth made possible by the cloning of cells harvested from Siberian permafrost that remained preserved for thousands of years.

Sources:

[1] News.Yahoo.com

[2] Genome.gov

[3] News.Yahoo.com

[4] CBSNews.com

[5] FDA.gov