Global Famine Vs. Cloned Meat

Image by TRC.
Image by TRC.

A catastrophic global food shortage has been predicted by “experts”. Supposedly it could hit in a few decades and change the way people live on Earth. Others simply encourage people to give up beef claiming the environmental impact of the amount of cows we eat is putting our planet at risk. However, in China ―according to Vice― animal cloning is being considered as a way to put an end to this fears and doomsday claims.

China is charging ahead and building the world’s largest animal cloning factory, set to begin operations in 2016. The 200 million yuan (over $31 million) commercial animal cloning center will be located in the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area, a government-sponsored business area about 100 miles from Beijing. Alex Swerdloff.

As reported by Beef2Live, Hong Kong consumes the most beef per capita in the world followed by Argentina and Uruguay; the autonomous territory consumes more than 123 pounds of beef per capita.


In order to create the amount of meat we eat, a third of the water used in agriculture is needed to produce grain to feed livestock. Such livestock accounts for 51% of global greenhouse gases, according to OneGreenPlanet.

So, world famine, drought and even global warming are being considered as unfortunate side effects of our meat consumption habits, however an economic power such as that of China is investing in a way to produce more animals, is it the right thing? We’ll need to chew on it!

In the meantime it would probably be best to consider the implications of having meat coming from a cloned animal, is it risky? Is it any different from eating meat of an “original” animal? Are producers and retailers legally compelled to let you know if they are selling you cloned meat? The answers will definitely vary from country to country and the FDA’s “veredict” on the matter will certainly be enlightening, but we’ll need to keep in mind that western’s diet, habits and ultimately, needs, will never be the same as the rest of the world’s.

Besides, if the cloning techniques are used to produce kobe beef it could make it easier for this delicacy to find its way to more and more tables, right?

By Flickr user: Jiashiang Wang New Jersey, US [CC BY 2.0 (], via Wikimedia Commons.
By Flickr user: Jiashiang Wang New Jersey, US [CC BY 2.0 (, via Wikimedia Commons.

December 2nd, 2015.


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