The USDA organic seal, which already means that the food it is placed on is free of pesticides or antibiotics, may also mean that the food did not come from cloned animals.
"Clone-free" labels are also likely to appear on some non-organic food, such as Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
Current Agriculture Department rules ban genetically modified food from being labeled organic.
Department officials say this means that cloning is forbidden in organic animals, but cloning companies disagree, noting that the FDA has said that cloning is not genetic engineering because it does not alter gene sequences.
A September 2006 poll showed that 64 percent of Americans are uncomfortable with the idea of animal cloning, but another poll showed that a similar amount would consider buying such food if the government said it was safe.
Part-and-parcel with the FDA's decision to allow milk and meat from cloned animals, the agency probably won't mandate any special labeling either, even though some companies are already planning for it. But consumers may not be completely in the dark if they pay attention to the already existing USDA organic label.
Perhaps the labeling process will be easier still one day soon if Sen. Barbara Mikulski's (D-Md.) proposed bill that would require labeling on cloned foods is approved by Congress. Unfortunately, according to various biotech companies, it may be difficult for dairy and food producers to guarantee their products are clone-free anyway.
And, no wonder, considering genetically modified organisms are present in some 75 percent of all processed foods. Americans have largely been kept in the dark about the truth about GM products; and because there are no labeling requirements, most people are not even aware they are putting potentially harmful ingredients into their bodies.
My most serious concern is that there aren't any long-term human studies determining what happens after genetically modified foods are consumed.
Remember, you can bypass this confusing maze of conventional food labeling altogether by obtaining wholesome foods from local sources.
On Vital Votes, reader Tim from Beverly Hills, California adds:
"No one seems to acknowledge the fact that a cloned animal is still genetically 'old'. As organisms age, they are exposed to mutagenic forces such as sunlight and chemicals that causes their genes to mutate. This means that you are slightly genetically different now than when you were born. "If you clone yourself at 40, your clone would have the genes of a 40 year old man, only he/she will be an infant. Genes have a predetermined life and they are meant to reproduce only so many times. Our chromosomes contain 'end caps' called telomeres that shorten with each duplication. After so many duplications they die. Sometimes this system fails and we end up with things like cancer."The clone of the 40 year old man would have the same cancer risks as the man himself."The whole idea of cloning is just simply BAD. We have no idea what negative effects will come from this."
"No one seems to acknowledge the fact that a cloned animal is still genetically 'old'. As organisms age, they are exposed to mutagenic forces such as sunlight and chemicals that causes their genes to mutate. This means that you are slightly genetically different now than when you were born.
"If you clone yourself at 40, your clone would have the genes of a 40 year old man, only he/she will be an infant. Genes have a predetermined life and they are meant to reproduce only so many times. Our chromosomes contain 'end caps' called telomeres that shorten with each duplication. After so many duplications they die. Sometimes this system fails and we end up with things like cancer."The clone of the 40 year old man would have the same cancer risks as the man himself."The whole idea of cloning is just simply BAD. We have no idea what negative effects will come from this."
Other responses to this article can be viewed at Vital Votes, and you can add your own thoughts or vote on comments by first registering at Vital Votes.