Maddie Parker
515 Hinton James Dr
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
madspar@live.unc.edu
February 6th, 2016
Dear Ms. Sarah Boyd,
My name is Maddie Parker and I am a first-year student at the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill. I am currently a chemistry BS major. I am seeking representation for my article, “Double the Meat, Double the Trouble?,” to be published in your distinguished article, Science. The article explores multiple research studies as well as background information on cloned agricultural meat, such as cows. It aims to answer consumer questions of the science behind cloning as the well as the safety of consumption. I believe “Double the Meat, Double the Trouble?” would be an excellent addition to your journal.
Dolly is a classic American name that holds with it the prestige of a first lady and the persona of a country signer. The less heard of Dolly, however, is the name of the world’s most famous sheep. In 1997, she was the first mammal to be cloned successfully. Although the first mammal to be cloned was around two decades ago, the technology is still relatively new and scientists are continuously researching new techniques of cloning. Due to the lack of general knowledge, there have been concerns raised about the safety of consuming cloned agriculture. The uneasiness sprouts from scientists and consumers, alike. These anxieties, for now however, can be put to rest. Multiple studies testing the composition of cloned animals versus naturally mating animals found no significant difference that could lead to severe health effects.
The first type of cloning used, such as in mammals like Dolly, is somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) which is when the cell nucleus from an adult cell is transferred into an unfertilized oocyte (developing egg cell) that has had its cell nucleus removed. The hybrid cell is then stimulated to divide by an electric shock, and when it develops into a blastocyst (early cell of embryo) and it is implanted in a surrogate mother. The more recently discovered type is embryonic cell nuclear transfer (ECNT). The methods are very similar, however, SCNT comes from adult cells where as ECNT is from embryos. While these two methods have been successful, researchers still face issues with the efficiency of cloning and as well as the health of the cloned animals. Although scientists are still struggling with the development process, sufficient research has shown the cloned animals are not harmful for human consumption.
For the rest of the article, I will elaborate on the research done on the effects of consuming cloned animals. The first study comes from the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), which is a part of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It investigates the cloned meat in comparison to naturally mating meat. In another study, they tested the effects of cloned meat on Warstar Rats. For both experiments, they test the composition of the animals (specifically cows) including the milk, meat, and blood. Both experiments conclude to say that cloned meat has the same effects as consuming naturally mating meat. Next, I will discuss the FDA’s decision regarding regulation of cloned meat in commercial agriculture. In correspondence with the FDA’s regulations, I will discuss the views of consumers on eating cloned meat. I have a research study conducted in Japan that asked the views of eating cloned meat before and after learning about the process and the minimal health risks. It was found that there is still a large resistance to eating cloned meat. After summarizing the main facts, I will discuss a call for action to further investigate the health effects and the techniques of cloning to be done before the meat is distributed into commercial agriculture.
Thank you for your time and I hope you consider this article for your journal, Science.
Sincerely,
Maddie Parker