Cloning and Why We Need It

Do the words, Dolly the sheep, ring a bell to you? It probably will remind you of a sheep that was in the middle of a huge uproar. Well, as you probably known Dolly wasn’t a normal sheep but was in fact a genetically cloned by scientists. Dolly was one of the few major breakthroughs in the history of cloning. Many people are against cloning and that is why cloning has become such a hot topic for discussions. But what is the difference between cloning and researching the answer to diseases? They both involve trial and error with cells and DNA. Also, both involve the saving of human lives in the long run. Cloning involves playing with life like God but not only in creating but also in saving. Disease researching also play with life like God but they only try to save lives. So, what is cloning really?  Cloning is simply the process of creating copies of DNA fragments, cells, or organisms. Cloning is playing an important role for the modern world and it will continue playing an important role in the future. For me cloning cannot be avoided and should be supported worldwide. Cloning plays an important part in the lives of animals, the life of humans and our organs, and the researching of diseases and their cures for humans, animals and plants.

Animal are an important part in human life. Since, most humans are omnivores, meaning they eat plants and meat, they rely heavily on the food that the animals provide us, like milk and meat. Without meat, our diet is disrupted and that can be fatal for some people.  “You can't build muscle without protein and meat is arguably the best way to get it. The World Health Organization states that protein digestibility is reduced by about 10% in a vegetable-based diet, because of its high-fiber content.” (Main Street Wholesale Meats – Health Facts) Cloning will help secure our meat supply because all main animals that are used for their meat have been successfully cloned numerous times since the year 2000. Cloning has not only strengthened animals and made them more adaptable to changing climates but also their ability to grow faster and provide more food. As a farmer I personally know that to get your whole herd provide the most milk possible, you must breed them time after time to create a herd that has a high milk production. But, now with cloning they extract the genes of a super milk provider and insert it into cloned babies. This saves the farmer a lot of time because finding the perfect couple to produce the babies can take years. Sadly, there are many other animals that cannot provide us with anything and remain wild. Lots of these animal species are close to extinction and again cloning can help. There have been numerous successful clones of endangered species such as gaurs, banteng and African wildcats.  These clones can be used to reintroduce the animals to the wild and to breed normally.  Due to the success of these clones, a zoo has been created to contain the frozen tissue of the world’s rarest and most endangered species. 

We, humans, are considered superior to other species but that does not mean we are immune to diseases, health problems, injuries etc.  But, many of these can be avoided with the help of cloning. Cloning has been a key part of creating organs for our bodies. And just recently a woman, in Britain, received a windpipe grown from stem cells. All of this is part of cloning and tissue engineering. Together these two can create other organs and lower the demand for organ donors. This will save way more lives from deaths that could have been avoided had they received a new heart, lung, or kidney.  And, if there is a lower demand for organs than the black-market will have a harder time selling organs stolen from people. Injuries can be fixed using the stem cells created from cloning and adding them to the area that needs cells. So, with organs available to people who need them and severe injuries fixed using stem cells, we humans will prove our superiority over other species.

Unfortunately, the high rate of failure and the low rate of success have attracted numerous people to complain about the costs to run these operations. Some countries support it and others ban it. But, the cost of cloning is going to be overrun by the cost of treating and researching cancer. Without cloning, stem cells would have not been reproduced and provided for researchers.  In the long term cloning will be worth the money. Since 2000, the rate of success has risen. Also, in between the years 2000-2003 there were six major breakthroughs in cloning history. Following these breakthroughs, animals that we depend on, such as cows, pigs, sheep etc, have all been successfully cloned numerous times.  Once cloning has helped find cures to diseases and illnesses such as Alzheimer and cancer, the money spent before will be worth it and many lives will be saved from pain and death. Furthermore, this would also lower the costs to provide for the people who had obtained the diseases or illnesses. Cloning will have a long-term affect on us but it will be worth the money spent before.

There are diseases for every organism alive, from plants, animals, humans, and insects. Most diseases can drastically affect lives and as we know there are numerous diseases, that we humans obtain, who don’t have any known cures. One of the most common forms of disease, that affects us humans, is cancer. “1 out of every 4 Canadians will die from cancer” (Canadian Cancer Statistics 2008). This is a very shocking stat and our only hope of avoiding the deaths of every fourth Canadian is for a cure to be found. Cloning has provided researchers with the ability to work with stem cells and to clone them so more quantities are available to the researchers. Unfortunately, cancer is only one of many diseases not curable, as of yet, that effect humans, plants, animals and insects. Scientists believe with the combination of using cloning, cells created and adding to the cells, that they could find a cure for numerous diseases not yet curable. Cloning also plays a big role in the lives of plants and cloning can be used to increase a plants resistance to diseases. Cloning can also be used to increase the durability of plants and their ability to survive in different weather climates. Because I live on a farm I know that seed companies pay thousands of dollars to create a super seed that needs less nitrogen or fertilizer and that can survive in the changing climate. Seed companies have severe competitions and they are always trying to improve their seeds. Cloning plants has helped many lands with unstable climates to be able to grow crops. With global warming this is an issue that is arising all over the world including in Canada.

Why has cloning been banned from other countries? They must have a good reason for it but cloning is unavoidable because lives depend on it. Cloning could provide us with strongly needed organs, strengthen animals and their species, and stop diseases among humans, animals, insects, and plants. Since 1952, cloning has continued to display success throughout the advancement of man and technology and it will end up helping to change the world we live in today.