Producers Favor Tracking Cloned Animals With Implanted Micro-Chips*

By MATTHEW PERRONE,
AP Business Writer

WASHINGTON - With the government set to allow food from cloned animals
onto the market _ and consumers not yet convinced it's safe _ meat and
dairy producers are promoting an industry-led system to track cloned
livestock.

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to give final go-ahead for
the sale of cloned meat and milk before the end of the year. Food
producers have agreed not to sell those products under a voluntary
moratorium, though the FDA has said cloned animals are scientifically
identical to their natural counterparts.

But that conclusion hasn't convinced shoppers _ or meat and dairy
producers who fear anxiety about cloned products could dampen sales.
Dallas-based Dean Foods Co., which owns the Land O'Lakes and Horizon
Organic brands, already said it will not sell milk from cloned cows. And
a spokeswoman for meat producer Hormel Foods Corp. said Wednesday it has
no plans to sell meat from cloned animals.

A September 2006 poll by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology
found that 64 percent of Americans were uncomfortable with animal
cloning. And research by the International Dairy Foods Association
estimated the $20 billion dairy market could fall 15 percent if cloned
milk is introduced. In a move to head-off such a backlash, milk
producers joined their peers in the meat and grocery industries to
endorse a system to identify cloned animals.

"Obviously, there are some public concerns about allowing milk from
cloned cattle into the supply chain, and that's why we're supporting the
tracking of these animals," said Chris Galen, Vice President for the
National Milk Producers Federation.

Under the plan, Viagen Inc. and Trans Ova Genetics _ the two primary
U.S. cloning companies _ will implamt an electronic micro-chip
identification tag into each cloned cow or pig sold. Buyers must make a
financial deposit with the cloning company which will only be returned
after they verify the death or sale of the animal to a food producer.
These customers must sign a pledge to market the animal as a clone.

The high cost of cloning means the vast majority of animals will never
make it directly to the table, said Trans Ova Genetics President David
Faber.

After making a $10,000 to $20,000 investment on one of these animals, it
doesn't make economic sense to put them into the food supply, Faber
said. "The farmers and producers who use this technology are mainly
interested in capturing genetic value to produce higher quality
animals," he said.

Trans Ova and Viagen have already produced more than 650 cloned animals
for U.S. breeders, including copies of prize-winning cows and rodeo
bulls. The companies said they don't expect to produce more than a few
hundred cloned animals per year in the near future.

One thing the companies won't be able to do is identify the offspring of
cloned animals. As Viagen President Mark Walton explained, "the database
won't track cloned offspring because they are not clones. They are the
same as every other animal ever produced from two parents."

The plan received the backing from trade groups representing meat
producers like Tyson Foods Inc. and food processors like Procter &
Gamble Co.

However, the initiative did little to quiet complaints from consumer
advocates and lawmakers who say the American public is not prepared for
clone encounters in their local grocery store.

"It is much too soon for this controversial technology to be unleashed
in the marketplace, especially without requiring it to be labeled," said
Wenonah Hauter, director of Food & Water Watch.

The FDA requires labeling of ingredients and additives that alter the
nutritional content of foods. Since cloned animals are indistinguishable
from naturally produced animals, the agency is not expected to require
that they be labeled, though companies may decide to voluntarily label
their products.

Lawmakers also pressed the FDA to delay lifting the moratorium on cloned
foods until more studies are complete.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., added last-minute language to the
government appropriations bill Tuesday directing the FDA to study the
economic and trade impact of allowing cloned products on the market.
While the legislation does not explicitly bar the FDA from publishing
the final assessment, it could pressure the agency to delay its release.