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Basically, they're identical twins. They're just born months or years apart.

Animal clones could provide farmers with a virtually endless supply of elite genetics and consumers with more consistent products. But like with all new technologies, there will be some controversy, said David White, OFBF senior director of policy research and development.

"There's no doubt that this will be a public relations battle," White said. "Animal cloning has been accepted as scientifically safe, but now we'll see a philosophical debate. From this point, the discussion will be about morals, ethics and social acceptance."

Last month the Food and Drug Administration said that meat and milk from clones and their offspring "are as safe as food we eat every day." However, the agency asked farmers to voluntarily refrain from introducing cloned animals into the food supply until public comments are considered.

Barb Glenn, managing director of animal biotechnology for the Biotechnology Industry Organization, said it is very unlikely consumers would ever eat a clone, because the expensive technique will only be used to produce breeding stock. She thinks once consumers understand cloning, they won't care.

"We feel there will be acceptance and ultimate yawning about the technology," she said. Glenn notes that consumers show little interest in other assisted reproductive techniques such as artificial insemination.

A clone is produced when DNA is extracted from a body cell of an animal, such as a superior bull, and inserted into a donated egg cell. A surrogate cow carries the egg, producing a genetic duplicate of the bull. The cloned bull's semen is then be used to breed food animals.

Glenn said the technology will be useful for old animals no longer able to breed. Castrated animals that have shown exceptional growth or performance traits could also be reproduced as breeding stock. She said it will never be the case where farmers will be producing herds of clones.

"No one is pushing to reduce genetic diversity," she said. "Cloning will be one tool in the toolbox."

Already, Maryland Sen. Barbara Milkulski has introduced a bill that would require any food that comes from cloned animals or their progeny to be labeled. Milkulski said she is concerned consumers "won’t be able to tell which foods were made the good old-fashioned way and which came from a cloned animal."

Glenn said it's unlikely FDA policy would require such products to be labeled because clones are indistinguishable from other animals. But that doesn't mean companies couldn't voluntarily include a label specifying their product did not come from a clone, she said.

OFBF's White said that both farmers and consumers should choose production methods they are comfortable with.

"But at the end of the day, our laws and regulations must be based on science," he said.