BILLINGS - Meat and milk from cloned animals may be coming to a store shelf near you. The Montana Cattlemen's Association is leery about that announcement from the Food and Drug Administration.
While they see potential advantages to cloning, they don't believe adequate research has been done on the long-term effects. Jeremy Seidlitz, with the Montana Cattlemen's Association, says cloning reminds many Montana ranchers of a science fiction movie.
They'd like to see more research done to make sure it's safe for the livestock gene pool. He says while it would be advantageous to save the DNA of a prize bull cloning may contaminate the cattle gene pool if defects go unchecked. He also says they don't know what will happen generations down the line.
Seidlitz says, "I talked with several folks Wednesday, and they appreciate the research, but just don't know if there's been enough time. It's only been 12 years, you know. Cows live longer than that, so that's one generation. What's this going to be five, six generations of cows down the road? What's gonna happen with this?"
Cost is also an issue. Seidletz says if cloned animals are going to be more expensive, why not breed the natural way.
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