Jan 18

　　Would you order jambon cloné in a French restaurant How about a cloneburger. In the past week, government scientists in Europe and the United States took a big step toward allowing cloned meat and milk on the dinner table. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a report declaring that cloned livestock was safe to eat, and the European Food Safety Authority says meat and milk of cloned animals is nothing out of the ordinary.

　　The reports caused indigestion on two continents. Europeans harbor a deep revulsion toward any funny business with their food. They've demanded (and gotten) legislation requiring labeling of genetically modified (GM) foods and have steadfastly resisted importing GM crops from the United States, Brazil and elsewhere. Although Americans have been much less bothered about biotechnology and food—they couldn't seem to care less about eating GM crops—it's safe to say that few people are thrilled by the prospect of putting a fork into a cloned porterhouse. Watchdog groups condemned the findings, calling for mandatory labeling. Given cloning's lack of gustatory appeal, a label might be all that's needed to kill the practice.

　　你愿意吃油炸

　　克隆食品吗？

　　你会在法国餐馆里点克隆火腿吗？会点一份克隆汉堡吗？上星期，欧洲和美国的政府科学家向着让克隆肉和克隆奶上餐桌迈出了一大步。美国食品药品管理局发表了一份报告，宣布食用克隆的牲畜是安全的。欧洲食品安全局说，克隆动物的肉和奶没有任何异常。

　　这种报告在两个大陆引起了消化不良。欧洲人对拿他们的食品开玩笑深恶痛绝。 他们已经要求（并已经得到）立法，要求在转基因食品上贴标签，并且坚决抵制从美国、巴西和其它地方进口转基因农产品。尽管美国人对于生物技术和食品的担心没那么多，但是，他们对食用转基因农产品的关注似乎一点也不少。可以有把握地说，没有什么人会对食用克隆牛排胆战心惊。督察组织谴责这些发现，呼吁强制性贴标签。如果人们对克隆食品缺少胃口，一张标签可能足以将它扼杀。