Super Chicken

Super Chicken strutted a step closer to the U.S. dinner table Thursday 9/19/08.

The FDA issued a proposed legal framework for how it would resolve such questions as whether the altered animals are safe for human consumption and pose no serious environmental risks. FDA officials said they are focusing on animals that will be used as food, or to produce medications that would then be consumed by people or other animals.

Reaction from consumer groups was mixed. Some welcomed the government's decision to regulate genetically altered animals. But they cautioned that many crucial details remain to be spelled out. The FDA does not plan to require in all cases that genetically engineered meat, poultry and fish be labeled as such for consumers. This will probably cause a lot of conversations from now on.

"They are talking about pigs that are going to have mouse genes in them, and this is not going to be labeled?" said Jean Halloran, director of food policy for Consumers Union.

What do you say?