Animal Products From Cloned Animals in the Food Production-Consumption Industry - Research Paper Example

 Technology, innovations, improvement and development are some words used to describe the aspirations of man to seek further quality of life and the quality of living. Indeed, man has struggled from the primitive ways up to today’s highly advanced technologies and discoveries that have aided man with survival. Cloning as one of the most extraordinary and promising discoveries man has made to interfere with the natural ways of producing an offspring has been a controversy since the time the possibility of it was thought. Moral and ethical debates of cloning plagued the global arena even until now that different attempts of cloning man, animals and plants have proven its possibility. This time the morality issues of cloning are set aside and will be focusing on the degree of benefits it has bestowed over mankind with its discovery. Cloning animals has been already utilized in countries where facilities and technologies permit such as in America. What good does cloning animals allocate for mankind. One of the most beneficial effects of cloning would be to answer to the global food shortage. Animal cloning will provide worldwide countries an answer to the deficit in food production for cloning allows more production of animals such as chickens, cattle, sheep and boars through cloning, thus doubling the products of animal rearing which is mainly food such as meat, milk products and diaries derived from animals. Some reports and studies even say that animal cloning is safe and beneficial to introduce in the food chain to give answers to food production issues related to animal production (DeLancy et al.). The animal food production industry has flourished and benefited from the kind of production offered by cloning the same way they have benefited from the conventional ways of animal production, but this time only better and faster since cloning does not require breeding animals with mating that comes in season. Food production of course should have corresponding safety to ensure that mankind will not suffer from the technologically based production of foods from animal products. There are differing and contrasting debates regarding the safety of the food products from scientifically cloned animals versus the conventionally and naturally produced animals. One published article cited that animal products from cloned animals do not pose food safety risks compared to conventional livestock produced animals (Prigg). But safety standards will have to be established well since the use of cloned animals is just on the verge of introduction in to the mainstream food market and will be flooded with multiple reactions from consumers worldwide based on issues people heard about the animal cloning controversy even without in the depth knowledge of what is really going on. On the same context, animal cloning is deemed good on the view that it will give producers and consumers the highest quality of animal products. Cloning provides producers an option of having the best quality of animal products since cloning can produce offspring animals with the suited traits for animal product production (DeLancey et al.). Cloning gives the best produce of the best animal offspring since the cloned animal are from well selected donor animals with the favorable characteristics or traits giving a highly qualified breed and stock for products. For example, a cloned pig from donors with the characteristic of having more lean meat rather than fat will produce the same quality from donor animals and meets the best quality for meat products, thus having the best chance of being sold and utilized. This will make sure that consumers are given the highest quality of meat from animal products because they are cloned to have that qualified characteristics compared to conventional breeding that results may vary according to circumstances and may be affected by other factors such as feed and environmental factors. In addition, this will give farmers and animal growers the best shot of selling big in the market for having animals with the desired traits suited for animal production and breeding due to cloning that will surely increase the opportunity to have better sales (DeLancey et al). Moreover, animal products from cloned animals are tested for unwanted characteristics that would affect the quality of the products or are tested to be free from developing a disease that can affect or can be harmful to consumers (DeLancey et al.). Again, in the better end of this, the consumers are the ones who will greatly benefit from safe and quality food from cloned animal products, and, since everybody eats, everyone is considered a consumer in the food production- consumption industry. This is contrary to an article entitled “Cloned Animals should not be used for foods” that obviously protests against the use of cloned animals for food production and consumption. According to the author of this article, cloned animals in the food production process jeopardize both animal and human welfare and that studies on the use of these cloned animal products do not conclusively demonstrate safety and are not well established thus the potential for harm can still be present for consumers (Mendelson). On a personal opinion, it is not merely closed mindedness and ignorance that hinders people from acquiring the advancement of embracing cloned animal products. But people nowadays have become more health conscious and cautious with what they eat thus further studies should be made and documented and be made available for public knowledge especially for the sake of more cautious consumers. Considering the presence of many diseases today that many are from the lifestyle and food choices people make, people now have become most conscious with the safety of what they take inside their body and the possible harm or benefit they will gain from it. Contrary to this, cloning does not incorporate new substance into a cloned animal, they just interfere with the natural process of breeding a new offspring by technologically choosing the best animal with the best trait to produce the best quality of offspring; but having this in mind is not enough to encourage the masses from taking cloned animals’ food products at once without the proper study to back up its safety. Animal cloning is good for the purpose of providing the world with the best cloned animal produce that has the best quality for consumption but the fact that its safety is not yet established for consumption people are divided with different opinions even people from the academes who knows best of the situation. It is a given fact that cloning is a promising discovery that holds key to discoveries in human food production, health and even human existence but since it is just beginning the fear of the treat and possibilities covers its trail thus further studies should back it up establish safety and to make people understand that innovations are made to help and never to harm human existence. Works Cited DeLancey, Siobhan, John Matheson, and Larisa Rudenko. "Cloned Animals Are Safe to Use for Food." Genetic Engineering. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Web. 30 June 2012. Mendelson III, Joseph. "Cloned Animals Should Not Be Used for Food." Genetic Engineering. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Web. 30 June 2012. Prigg, Mark. "Cloned meat and milk are not safety risks, say scientists." Evening Standard [London, England] 26 Nov. 2010: 28. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 30 June 2012. Read More