It may come as a surprise, but you may be consuming cloned meat on a regular basis. In fact, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (head of the USDA) says that he has no idea whether or not cloned meat has been sold inside the United States — or even how much. But instead of investigating or setting up parameters, the USDA asserts that it is safe in their view so there is no cause for alarm. It is currently forbidden by the agency itself for any producer to distribute or sell cloned meat.

The news came back in August of 2010, when U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack went on record saying that he really doesn’t know whether or not cloned meat is being put on dinner tables nationwide. The announcement was made after the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency told consumers that meat from descendants of cloned animals had already entered the food supply. Of course the agency made the statements a year after the cloned products leaked into the food chain. Still, just like the USDA, the UK’s FSA stated that they believe cloned meat poses no risk, so citizens should not panic. The reason? They say that cloned meat has ‘ no substantial difference’ to traditional meat, and therefore it is safe.

The statements echo those of Monsanto, whose genetically modified creations have been linked to everything from organ damage to toxicity-induced cell death.

Here’s what Tom Vilsack’s response is to whether or not cloned meat is being sold in United States stores and subsequently being eaten by citizens:

“I can’t say today that I can answer your question in an affirmative or negative way. I don’t know. What I do know is that we know all the research, all of the review of this is suggested that this is safe,” Vilsack said to reporters.

Conventional meat packing industries and suppliers often utilize disturbing growth techniques with zero regard for the welfare of the animals and the consumer. It is not to believe that cloned meat would slip into this chaotic process and be passed off as traditional meat. In order to avoid the threat of not only cloned meat but a copious amount of antibiotics (that you will soon be eating), you should search for high quality meat sources that utilize grass as a main feed source. The antibiotic problem is so pervasive, in fact, that a judge recently ordered the FDA to remove antibiotics from animal feed in order to halt the production of super viruses.