Clone Labeling: California Legislature Passes Country’s First-Ever Law

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Americans Overwhelmingly Oppose Animal Cloning and Support Labels on Food from Clones
Washington
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) today applauded the California legislature for passing the country’s first law requiring labels on meat or dairy products produced from animal clones or their offspring. A CFS report released in February revealed that there is scant scientific evidence for the safety of food from clones, and that the technology is inherently cruel to animals. Nonetheless, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it expects to approve the marketing of unlabeled food from clones before the end of this year.

“ California ’s labeling law will be a critical step for protecting consumers here from the risks of untested cloned foods,” said Rebecca Spector, West Coast Director of CFS. “Many Americans want safe, natural foods, but unlabeled food from clones threatens to deny us this choice. We urge the Governor to sign this bill into law to protect our right to know what’s in our food.”

The first animal clone, Dolly, was produced just ten years ago, and leading cloning scientists say that the technology is not well understood and may be incapable of producing normal animals. In Science magazine just this year, Joseph Cibelli of Michigan State University noted “…we are left with many unanswered questions about [cloning] and are still unable to substantially increase its efficiency….the long list of unanswered questions about animal cloning reflects how our understanding is stalled at a fundamental level.”

The CFS report on food from clones, Not Ready for Prime, reveals that most cloning studies considered by the FDA when making its decision found troubling abnormalities and defects in animal clones, many of which could pose food safety risks. Noting the dearth of studies on milk from animal clones, for example, FDA admitted “Few of the cattle clones are old enough to have been bred, given birth, and begun lactating.” The CFS report also reveals that swine clones are smaller and more sickly than pigs born naturally, and often die early from unexplained illnesses. The report outlines the frequent and severe deformities clones are afflicted with, and noted that FDA’s review failed to adequately address animal welfare issues, entirely ignoring Americans’ ethical and moral concerns about animal cloning.

Furthermore, a May 2007 national survey by Consumers Union found that 89 percent of Americans want to see cloned foods labeled. An additional 69 percent said that they have concerns about cloned meat and dairy products in the food supply. CFS also notes recent food contamination cases and recalls that the FDA is an agency in crisis. “In recent years, the federal agency charged with protecting our food supply has failed us,” said Joseph Mendelson, Legal Director for CFS. “Consumers need to know that the meat and milk they feed their children is safe. If FDA refuses to wait for science to show what’s really happening with clones, Congress and the states must – at a minimum – require labeling to protect consumer choice.”

Federal bills to label cloned food have been introduced by Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski and by Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. In addition, Massachusetts , New Jersey , Missouri , Kentucky , Washington , New York and North Carolina have also introduced state bills on cloned food labeling. A Montana bill calling for a moratorium on food from clones died in committee earlier this year.

The California bill, SB 63, was introduced by Senator Carol Migden, and requires clear, prominent labeling indicating that food derives from an animal clone or its progeny on any such food for human consumption. SB 63 passed the state House on Monday and the Senate on Wednesday. It now goes to Governor Schwarzeneggar who has until October 15 to sign or veto the bill.

The CFS report, Not Ready for Prime Time, is available at this link.

For more information on SB 63, see this link.

For information on federal bills use these links.The U.S. Senate “Cloned Food Labeling Act,” S.414, and The U.S. House version, H.R. 992.

For information on other state bills:

Source: The Center for Food Safety is national, non-profit, membership organization founded in 1997 that works to protect human health and the environment by curbing the use of harmful food production technologies and by promoting organic and other forms of sustainable agriculture. On the web at: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org