Cloned Products in the Near Future?

As early as next week, the FDA may declare cloned animals and their products safe to eat. In 2006, the FDA tentatively ruled that cloning was simply "'a more advanced form' of breeding technologies already widely used in the cattle industry, such as artificial insemination, embryo transfer and in vitro fertilization."

On the plus side, lifting the informal ban on selling cloned food products may lead to superior food items, such as leaner and larger cuts of meat.

On the flip side, the allowance of genetically modified food items would not only allow biotech companies to monopolize the market, it would also introduce hard-to-track food products. That is, if tracking systems are insufficient, consumers may not be able to choose whether they are eating natural food or not.

Then again, many products on shelves today include technological innovations such as pasteurized milk and any items with genetically modified corn or soybeans.

What do you think about the rise of GMOs/cloning? Do you support this show of progress? Do you think the FDA should refrain from approving them before any long-term effects can be demonstrated? Is this the answer to world hunger? Would you like to know what exactly is in your food?