21 months ago
The future is here -- and soon, it may well be coming to a grocery store shelf near you.
After wrestling with the issue for more than seven years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the green light last month for milk and meat from cloned livestock to be sold to the public.
But the core of the debate still remains -- is cloning safe?
While the FDA's ruling tested only whether the cloned by-produces were safe for human consumption, several animal rights groups continue to argue cloning is harmful and unethical, subjected cloned animals to higher rates of birth defects and other complications.
"There is no evidence products from clones is any different than products from sexually reproduced animals," said Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam, a U.C. Davis bioresearcher.
But some consumer advocates disagree.
"Our concern is the FDA didn't do a proper risk assessment on cloning," said Rebecca Spector with the Center for Food Safety in San Francisco.
It could be several years before cloned food products hit supermarket shelves.
News10's Cornell Barnard talked to advocates on both sides of the controversial issue to find out whether the cloned meat debate is the future of food or a just a well-intentioned novelty.
News10/KXTV
