Within the next seven months China plans to open the first cloning factory. There, they plan to clone cattle, pets, and eventually humans. They have also been working on ways to clone extinct or dead animals; for example the wooly mammoth is one such animal they have been developing methods for. The factory is opening with hopes to produce 1 million cows a year by 2020. They anticipate that the cloning of cattle and other such animals could help with world food supplies and specifically China's food crisis. Xu Xiaochun, the CEO behind the company hopes that helping aid the food crisis will shed a new light on the moral issues behind cloning, and people will see what good it can bring.
This article was chosen because of the moral issues it brings into question. While I do see the practicality of cloning animals for food, there still is just a uneasiness about it. I'm not entirely on board with the idea of eating cloned meat, even if it is FDA approved in the US (which it is). And while cloning humans might be something others are into, I personally get a little wierded out by the thought of there being an identical me. Overall I felt the story just showed how far we've come in genetics and what direction this is headed.
The article does show some potential benefits of cloning. However, I agree with you about eating a genetically cloning animals. I would not be comfortable to eat something that went through cloning. Also, the idea of cloning humans seem way beyond and kind of weird. I do want to acknowledge the fact that scientists are putting a lot of afford to reduce the food crisis. It also shows that every day by day science is advancing.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very touchy subject. There are so many pros and cons to cloning. I believe that the cloning of animals for scientific purposes is okay, but once they start cloning animals for other purposes is where I see a problem. These clones could lead to mutations that could potentially harm us. It is just like genetically altering plants, which lead to harmful side effects for humans. There would have to be a lot of research done to prove to me that these cloned animals would be okay to eat.
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ReplyDeleteI do agree that cloning has benefits for more food and material supplies, and maybe it can save some endangered species. But at the same time, cloning can be potentially harmful for both the animals and society. First off, over cloning can be an issue and cloning the wrong types of species. If we clone too many of one type of animal, this may lead to an unbalance in the food chain. Or if we clone an animal that could be harmful to other species, this could change the count and balance in the animal kingdom. I know this article pertains to just eating cloned animals, but there are people in the world who would love to get there hands on this cloning mechanism that could cause some serious problems in the future. Looking at the bigger picture, in my opinion I would not eat cloned animal products because there is most likely a high chance of mutation in the meat.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is a little creepy in my opinion. If there are ways to clone animals, we are not too far from cloning humans. While there may be good intention for this research, I feel it will get into the wrong hands it will do more harm than good. I would not feel comfortable eating a synthetic chicken or apple. Maybe it is because it is very new and the longer we have the technology it can become comfortable.
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