China's cloned cows: meat on the table or environmental disaster? | Jian Yi

Plans to clone cattle to meet China's growing demand for beef threaten to take the country down a dangerous road to pollution, food insecurity and ill health

A biotech consortium in China has announced that it intends to open a facility near Beijing with the aim of cloning up to a million cows a year to meet the country's growing demand for beef. The factory won't stop at cows. It also plans to clone racehorses, pets and even sniffer dogs. But the vast majority of animals it produces will be calves for meat production.

In Beijing I read this news with incredulity and dismay. In 2009, I directed the first documentary about China's rising consumption of meat and the growing industrialisation of its food sector, including livestock production. In the film, What's for Dinner?, I explored a nexus of problems related to intensive animal agriculture: environmental pollution, food security, public health (including the use of antibiotics and hormones in feed), climate change and animal welfare.