Story Created: Jan 16, 2008 at 10:06 PM MDT
Story Updated: Nov 7, 2008 at 11:31 AM MDT
Sky Talavera knows his meat.
"It's all natural, no antibiotics, steroids, hormones, sustainably raised," Talavera told CBS 2 Eyewitness News.
From ground beef, to rib eye, Talavera says every cut of meat at the Boise Co-Op is organic.
"A lot of people want to know where their beef is coming from and how it's treated," he said.
Now more customers might find themselves asking the same questions after learning what the FDA says is safe to eat. After seven years of research the FDA says eating meat and drinking milk from cloned animals won't hurt you. Leading cloning companies say making a carbon copy of a genetically superior animal will help get better products to the market faster, but not all shoppers are buying into the concept.
"It seems like it could be unhealthy, but I'm not sure," said Boise shopper Jen Waters.
"It's a little alarming, it's like things being tampered with, made with more chemicals, and everything," agreed shopper Kristina Geier.
Not only is the FDA calling bio-engineered meat and milk safe, they're also not going to require food companies to label if their products come from cloned animals.
"They label things that are organic or not, so it seems like you should, to know where it's coming from at least," Waters told CBS 2 Eyewitness News when asked what she thought about the lack of labeling restrictions.
"They should probably label it," said another Boise Co-Op Shopper.
While experts say it could be years before that meat hits your shelf, Talavera says it wouldn't hurt to ask some questions before the butcher makes your cut.
"Where's the product coming from? How do you track it to your supplier, and what's in it?"
Cloning companies say it costs up to $20,000 to produce a clone and because of that cost they say most clones will be used to breed off spring.
In a 2006 survey, one third of Americans said they would never buy bio-engineered meat or milk.
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