Consumers Flood FDA With Over 130,000 Concerns Over Clone Food
Pastor Dale Morgan
Consumers Flood FDA With Over 130,000 Concerns Over Clone Food*
Americans urge agency to adopt a mandatory ban on untested, cloned food
Washington, DC (May 5, 2007) -- A coalition of consumer, environmental
and animal welfare organizations today announced the submission of more
than 130,000 comments to the Food and Drug Administration from consumers
who oppose the Agency's proposed plan to introduce food from cloned
animals into the U.S. food supply. The Center for Food Safety, Consumers
Union, Food and Water Watch, The Humane Society of the United States,
the American Anti-Vivisection Society, the Consumer Federation of
America and the Organic Consumers Association joined together to send a
strong, unified message to the FDA that the public opposes the
introduction of cloned animals in food.
Today is the last day of a public comment period that began in January
in response to FDA's proposal to allow products from cloned animals in
the food supply unlabeled. Members of the meat and dairy industries, and
several nonprofit organizations urged the Agency to take time to
consider comments from the widest possible sample of Americans in
consideration of the untested nature of cloning technology.
Recent public opinion polls show the majority of the American public
does 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. The comments submitted today strongly reinforce this national
sentiment.
"Food from cloned animals has no place on our supermarket shelves or on
our dinner tables," said Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of the
Center for Food Safety. "FDA needs to heed consumer concerns and ban
animal clones in food."
Another controversial aspect of FDA's plan is that labeling of any kind
on meat or milk products from clones or their offspring would not be
required. This would rob Americans of their right to choose what they
eat and feed their families.
"More than 130,000 people have said 'No' to unlabeled food from clones,"
said Ronnie Cummins of the Organic Consumers Association. "People are
tired of the biotech industry meddling in the food system, tired of
government rubber-stamping approvals, and tired of not having the right
to choose what they eat and feed to their families."
"This flood of public comments should send a strong signal to FDA that
the public is not ready for food from animal clones, and if such food is
put on the market they want it labeled" said Michael Hanson of Consumers
Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, and author of CU's
scientific critique of FDA's risk assessment. "We hope the agency will
listen and rethink their proposal in light of public sentiment and the
many unanswered questions about the science of animal cloning."
Citing animal welfare concerns, The Humane Society of the United States
(HSUS) and the American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS) have also asked
the FDA to block sales of products from cloned farm animals and their
offspring.
"Animals who go through the cloning process suffer terribly. Death and
deformities in cloned animals is the norm, not the exception," said
Tracie Letterman, Executive Director of AAVS. "Just because we can clone
animals for food, doesn't mean we should."
"American consumers are increasingly concerned about the treatment of
animals raised and slaughtered for food," said Wayne Pacelle, President
and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. "Considering the
numerous studies that have shown that animals in cloning research can
and do suffer, the FDA must disallow cloned animals and their progeny
and surrogate mothers in food production industries."
In its risk assessment of cloned food, the FDA claims to have evaluated
extensive peer reviewed studies on the safety of food from clones to
support its conclusion, yet a recent report issued by the Center for
Food Safety, 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. None of the studies focus
on the safety of meat from cloned cows or pigs, or milk or meat from the
offspring of cloned animals, and there was absolutely no data on milk or
meat from cloned goats - all major issues critical to determining the
safety of the proposal.
"FDA's willingness to allow the sale of meat and milk from cloned
animals is yet another example of the Agency's disregard for safety in
the face of industry pressure," said Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director
of Food & Water Watch. "The FDA should not be allowed to use a skimpy
body of evidence to allow this controversial product onto consumers'
dinner tables."
Proponents of animal cloning have asserted that the technology will lead
to better and less expensive dairy and meat products, but Chris Waldrop,
Director of the Food Policy Institute at the Consumer Federation of
America says this simply isn't true, "Consumers don't want or need
cloned animals for food. Cloning will not produce safer or cheaper milk
and meat. Having cloned cows produce more milk won't reduce milk prices.
U.S. farmers already produce more milk than we drink and the government
is required to buy the surplus. Since 1999, dairy support programs have
cost taxpayers over $5 billion."
The FDA has said it will review all the public comments, and will likely
make a decision on food from cloned animals by the end of the year.
Contacts:
Center for Food Safety, Charles Margulis (510) 697-0615, or John
Bianchi, Goodman Media International: (212) 576-2700, x228
www.centerforfoodsafety.org
Consumers Union: Michael Hansen, (917) 774-3801 www.consumersunion.org
Organic Consumers Association: Ronnie Cummins, (218) 226-4164
www.organicconsumers.org
Humane Society of the United States: Michael Greger, M.D., (301)
258-3110 www.hsus.org
American Anti-Vivisection Society: Tracie Letterman (215) 887-0816
www.endanimalcloning.org
Food and Water Watch: Patty Lovera, (202) 797-6557 www.foodandwaterwatch.org
Consumer Federation of America: Chris Waldrop, (202) 797-8551
www.consumerfed.org