In a response to the FDA's announcement that cloned meat is safe for human consumption, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is requesting a voluntary moratorium by U.S. farmers in efforts to prevent the meat from being sold on the market.

As it turns out though, you may already be eating the offspring of clones. Clones themselves cost in the neighborhood of $15,000, as I wrote about on Tuesday so it is unlikely you're consuming one of those animals. However some of the larger cattle cloning companies have admitted the FDA's former recommendation to keep the offspring off the market until a safety report was completed, may have been ignored.

"This is a fairy tale that this technology is not being used and is not already in the food chain," said Donald Coover, a Galesburg, Kan., cattleman and veterinarian who has a specialty cattle-semen business. "Anyone who tells you otherwise either doesn't know what they're talking about or they're not being honest."

The USDA request doesn't seem to stem from safety and health concerns regarding the selling of cloned meat, but rather the politics involved. The USDA undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs said the request is to allow time for "an acceptance process...given the emotional nature of this issue." The FDA review of meat and dairy from clones said they are as safe as the products that come from non-cloned animals. How do you feel about the cloned food issue? Does it make a difference to you knowing there are no supposed health or safety issues? Would you buy food from a clone animal and do you want to know if the meat you're buying comes from one?

» The Seattle Times