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Cloned Meat: It's What's for Dinner |
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August 19, 2008
Proponents of cloning livestock, including cloning companies and
some ranchers, claim that the technology would yield more consistently
high quality meat.
The quality of meat from
conventionally bred herds is inconsistent; some meat is destined for
expensive restaurants while some may be used for dog food.
But
by cloning prized livestock and using them to breed top-notch
livestock, supporters claim ranchers could more reliably produce only
the highest quality product.
After years of study, the
Food and Drug Administration released a lengthy report in January
stating that "food from cattle, swine and goat clones is as safe to eat
as that from their more conventionally bred counterparts."
But not everyone —including another government agency, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture and its counterpart in the European Union— is
convinced that your butcher should be stocking meat from clones quite
yet.
Despite FDA's stamp of the approval, the USDA asked the meat
industry to allow time for an "an acceptance process, given the
emotional nature of this issue," said Bruce Knight, the Undersecretary
for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, after the release of the FDA
report.
Knight said the USDA was not concerned about
health issues, but worried that the introduction of the new product
would rouse consumer concern, especially in other countries where
consumers have been extremely wary about genetically modified foods.
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Farm animal rights law would require room to roam |
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July 28, 2008
Kim Sturla began bringing goats, pigs, chickens and cows once slated
for slaughter to his sanctuary 20 years ago, before supermarkets
offered eggs from cage-free hens and beef was advertised on menus as
being hormone free.
Two decades later, the treatment of farm animals is a national issue
being debated in state Legislatures and put before voters. Footage
circulated on the Internet of sick farm animals being kicked and beaten
has intensified calls for reform.
"People want conditions to change," said Sturla, who co-founded the
Animal Place sanctuary for abused and discarded farm animals in 1989.
"On this issue, you don't have to give propaganda. In fact, you have to
downplay the conditions or people will shut down. They'll think you're
embellishing."
This fall, California voters will consider the most comprehensive
farm animal rights law in the country, a measure that would ban cramped
metal cages for egg-laying hens, metal gestation crates for pregnant
sows and veal crates for lambs — standard industry practices in which
the animals are kept so confined that they can barely move.
The initiative follows more limited measures recently passed in several other states.
Earlier this year, the Colorado legislature became the first in the
nation to prohibit the use of gestation crates for pregnant pigs and
veal crates for calves. In the last three years, Florida and Oregon
voters have banned gestation crates and Arizona voters banned both
gestation crates and veal crates.
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10-year-old Hagerstown girl speaks out against animal abuse |
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June 30, 2008
Hayley Beyer has taken a stand on animal rights and is determined to speak on their behalf to stop animal abuse.
"I've always been interested in animals," Hayley said. "They can teach you things."
Hayley, a 10-year-old fifth-grader at Eastern Elementary School,
said she feels strongly about the safety of animals, so she submitted a
paper titled "Animal Abuse" to the Humane Society of Washington County.
Hayley said after visiting the shelter, she "stopped by the desk and
asked if they wanted her paper."
"They told me they would put it in their case, so like people coming in the shelter can see it when they sign in," Hayley said.
The humane society’s stated mission is to improve the quality of life for all animals.
"We try to determine what's best for the animals," said Paul Miller,
executive director of the humane society. "We certainly try to educate
the community of acceptable standards of animal care and ownership. We
also make sure animals are properly taken care of through programs and
press releases."
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