FDA: Send in the Clones

Clones are just as safe to eat as any other animal, concludes a much-awaited, much-debated report from the FDA. Cloned animals studied were found to be as healthy as their normal counterparts, and their meat contained equal levels of nutrients, the Washington Post reports. The 968-page document provides mountains of raw data and methodology—more data, one researcher notes, than on any other animal we eat.

 Another investigation showed animals fed food from clones suffered no ill effects. Still, objections from trade agencies concerned with overseas markets are expected to delay production of meat and milk from cloned cattle, pigs, and goats. And the report acknowledges that there are religious and ethical objections to cloning that fall outside the agency's purview, which is strictly science. (More cloning stories.)