Cloning

Sometimes an issue really bothers me. In this case, it is cloning of animals. I don't know what any of you think, but I believe that the cloning of animals is against God's instructions for nature. I was reminded of this as the FDA approved cloned animal products for consumable food. I raise Texas Longhorn Cattle. The organization that is charged with the registration of these cattle has included cloned cattle for registration in the general registry. Therefore, I no longer register my cattle. I also will not belong to, support or promote any organization that approves clones. For all future breeding, I will ensure that there are no clones within the pedigree of any animal I use. It is my intent, desire and duty to provide quality natural selection Texas Longhorn Cattle to my customers. Other than necessary shots as required by law, shots necessary to promote the health of the animal, E Slash Longhorns will provide only natural bred cattle.

By definition, these cattle are not organic, nor are they purely range fed cattle. Due to the restrictions of acreage, lack of moisture, it is necessary for me to feed hay and supplemental liquid feed to keep the cows in good condition. I cannot guarantee that the hay or liquid feed is organic in nature, but as close as is practical, these cattle are feed quality feed. I will stipulate that the meat from my cows is closer to organic, contains less chemicals and is more wholesome than that of the majority of the meat bought in the local chain grocery store.

For those of you who have always bought your meat form the grocery store, keep in mind that there has been several holders of that animal, and the meat before you buy it. It generally starts with the rancher, may go to a packing house, or sold to a farmer to fatten before going to the packing house. Once at the packing house, it will be fed formulated food (to promote rapid weight gain) to bring it up to the weight desired for butcher. Then it goes through the process of being butchered, possibly hung for a period for aging, graded and then packaged along with hundreds of other cattle. Up to now, there has potentially been hundreds of persons involved with this one animal. OK, so you feel pretty good about the USDA Grade A or Prime steak that you bought. I'll agree that the Department of Agriculture does an excellent job of inspecting these processing plants and the animals within. But through all this, the meat is not getting any fresher. Some is prepackaged, and some is sent out as whole or half beef sides. It may arrive at your store prepackaged and ready for the shelf, or they may have a butcher on hand to cut and package it, more hands and more room for contamination. Still feel pretty good about that Prime steak? Whoa, there has been a recall for ??? millions pounds of beef. This is the part that is caught and all the safety precautions had been followed. What about all the beef consumed that was not caught. Cook that Prime steak until it is done all the way through, no rare steak for you.

Now this has been a brief synopsis of an American raised beef. Since we are a free trade country, what of the beef imported from other countries? How confident are you that all the necessary safety practices have been followed in those countries (Canada, Australia, Argentina, etc)?

The real point here is with all the mixture of beef in these processes and from different points of origin, and using the safety of meat as a factor, how will any one store be able to tell you that they are not selling cloned meat? There will be an unquantified amount of bookkeeping necessary to insure that there is not cloned animals in any shipment of beef for sale to the end user.

For those of you who care, and those who want to insure quality, buy from a source you trust and have it processed by someone you trust. I raise my own table meat, and I have it processed by a local butcher who I trust. I personally like the taste of Longhorn because it is lean, low in cholesterol and still cooks up tender when cooked right.

And yes, I do sell to individuals who want a really good beef in their freezer and on their table.

For good New Mexico raised cattle, email datilcowman@gmail.com