Food from cloned animals receives preliminary approval.

• Author: Herro, Alana
• Position: EYE ON EARTH

In December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a draft risk assessment declaring that the meat and milk of cloned cattle, pigs, goats, and their offspring is "as safe to eat as food from conventionally bred animals." The document was opened for a 90-day public comment period, but experts predict the FDA will reaffirm its conclusions, a decision that will likely influence cloning regulations beyond the United States.

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Even if the FDA approves the sale of food from certain cloned animals, this is not likely to lead to a surge of such foods in the market, according to Nature contributor Heidi Ledford. Ledford explains that cloning is an expensive technique that will be most useful for developing elite animals for breeding. The offspring of these clones will probably be the first to enter the food system, though some original clones may eventually be consumed as well.

Chikara Kubota, an animal cloning researcher at Japan's Kagoshima University, says the U.S. announcement is a relief and will likely affect the moratorium on clones in Japan and other countries. Mal Brandon of Australasia's Clone International says the FDA announcement is good news for his company, which has licenses to manufacture cloned cattle and sheep in Australia, New Zealand, and China. But other experts worry that the...