Today, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) praised an opinion issued yesterday by the European Union’s Group on Ethics of science and new technologies (EGE).  The EGE, commenting on the practice of cloning animals for food, found that the current level of suffering and health problems of animal clones are considerable and that cloning animals for food is ethically unjustified.

“Considering the current level of suffering and health problems of surrogate dams and animal clones, the EGE has doubts as to whether cloning animals for food supply is ethically justified,” the announcement states. “At present, the EGE does not see convincing arguments to justify the production of food from clones and their offspring.”  The EU has further determined that its current ban on the sale of meat and milk from clones will stay in place.

“This announcement sends a strong message to American food producers and trade representatives: your clones will not find a market in the European Union,” said Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of the Center for Food Safety.  “This decision trumps the European Food Safety Agency’s approval of clones late last week, and should give Congress the courage to pass the Farm Bill containing the Mikulski-Specter amendment.”

With the Mikulski-Specter amendment, the Farm Bill addresses the gaps and inadequacies of the FDA’s current risk assessment by requiring a rigorous and careful review of the human health impacts of allowing clones food into America’s food supply to be conducted by the National Academy of Science before any food products from clones are marketed.  It also directs the USDA to examine consumer acceptance of cloned foods and their likely impact on domestic and international markets. (Click here for more on this amendment).

In their announcement issued late yesterday, the EGE made it clear that they were aware of the European Food Safety Agency’s approval of clones, as well as the FDA’s announcement, made earlier this week, clearing food from clones as safe for sale to the public.  Their opinion was arrived at after nearly a year of consultations, expert hearings, an effort to gather public comment (launched on the Europa web site) and a round table with representatives from academia, industry, NGOs, civil society, International organizations and industry.  The EGE opinion applies only to cloning animals for the food supply, but the European Union will continue to research the question of meat and milk from the progeny of clones from both a scientific and ethical standpoint.

Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) determined that milk and meat from cloned animals are safe for sale to the public.  In addition, the FDA is requiring no tracking system for clones or labeling of products produced from clones or their offspring.  This action comes at a time when the U.S. Senate has voted twice to delay FDA’s decision on cloned animals until additional safety and economic studies can be completed by the National Academy of Sciences and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).  FDA’s release of their controversial risk assessment was blasted by dozens of food industry, consumer, and animal welfare groups, as well as federal lawmakers.

Recent opinion polls show the majority of Americans do not want milk or meat from cloned animals in their food.  A December 2006 poll by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology found that nearly two-thirds of U.S. consumers were uncomfortable with animal cloning.  A national survey conducted this year by Consumers Union found that 89 percent of Americans want to see cloned foods labeled, while 69 percent said that they have concerns about cloned meat and dairy products in the food supply.  A recent Gallup Poll reported that more than 60 percent of Americans believe that it is immoral to clone animals, while the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology found that a similar percentage say that, despite FDA approval, they won’t buy milk from cloned animals.

In its risk assessment of cloned food, the FDA claims to have evaluated extensive peer reviewed safety studies to support its conclusion, yet a recent report issued by CFS, Not Ready for Prime Time, shows the assessment only references three peer-reviewed food safety studies, all of which focus on the narrow issue of milk from cloned cows.  What is even more disturbing is that these studies were partially funded by the same biotech firms that produce clones for profit.

Read the executive summary of the Center for Food Safety’s report

Read the full report