FDA APPROVAL OF CLONES STALLED BY PASSAGE OF MIKULSKI-SPECTER AMENDMENT IN FARM BILL!

Bill Passes by an Overwhelming Majority of 79 to 14;Coalition of Consumer, Farmer, and Animal Welfare Groups Praise the Senate’s Action

Washington, DC December 14, 2007 – A broad coalition of consumer, farmer, and animal welfare organizations today applauded passage of a provision in the Senate’s Farm Bill (H.R. 2419) that would delay the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) endorsement of the use of food from cloned animals. This amendment, advanced by Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) and co-sponsored by Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), calls for a rigorous and careful review of the human health and economic impacts of bringing cloned food into America’s food supply. The senate overwhelmingly passed the bill this afternoon by a vote of 79 to 14.

“The passage of this bill with the Mikulski-Specter amendment is like a gift for the holidays,” said Joseph Mendelson, Legal Director of the Center for Food Safety. “The FDA’s flawed and cavalier approach to cloned food and its potential impacts called for a truly rigorous scientific assessment. At a time when the FDA has repeatedly failed the public, this amendment will ensure that the American consumer is considered before any special interest.”

The amendment requires that two rigorous studies be performed before the FDA is able to issue a final decision on food from clones. The amendment directs the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to convene a blue-ribbon panel of leading scientists to review the FDA’s initial decision that food from cloned animals is safe. The amendment further requires the NAS to study the potential health impacts of cloned foods entering the nation’s food supply, including the possible effects of lessened milk consumption (due to consumer avoidance of cloned food) leading to development of chronic diseases as a result. The bill also directs the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to examine consumer acceptance of cloned foods and the likely impacts they could have on domestic and international markets.

“The FDA risk assessment ignored the fact that most clones never make it to adulthood because they die in gestation or shortly after birth, and also failed to consider whether clones might need more drug treatments,” said Dr. Michael Hansen, Senior Scientist, Consumers Union. “We agree with the Senate that the NAS should take another look at the safety questions.”

During a public comment period that ended earlier this year, the FDA heard from more than 150,000 consumers rejecting the Agency’s proposed plan to introduce clones into the U.S. food supply. In addition, dozens of members of the meat and dairy industries and nonprofit organizations urged the FDA to consider comments from the widest possible sample of Americans in consideration of the untested nature of cloning technology.

“Animal protection advocates support scientific advancement, but cloning lacks any legitimate social value and decreases animal welfare in a dramatic way,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. “Today, the U.S. Senate slowed down the application of this bad idea, and we hope the House follows its lead.”

“Polls have repeatedly shown that consumers are wary of food from cloned animals,” said Chris Waldrop, Director of the Food Policy Institute at the Consumer Federation of America. “We need a much more comprehensive assessment of the potential implications of allowing food from cloned animals into the food supply. The Mikulski-Specter amendment would assure that these important issues are thoroughly reviewed before FDA is allowed to issue its final risk assessment.”

Passage of this bill with the Mikulski-Specter amendment comes at a time when the public’s opposition to food from clones has never been higher. 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.

“The surveys show that the public is morally opposed to cloning. Animals suffer terribly in the cloning process, and the FDA has ignored these issues,” said Tracie Letterman, Executive Director of the American Anti-Vivisection Society. “This amendment will allow these discussions to take place.”

“With the public increasingly concerned about the treatment of farm animals,” said Julie Janovsky, Campaign Director for Farm Sanctuary, “the Mikulski- Specter amendment acknowledges the fact that cloning may lead to even harsher conditions for animals used to produce food”.

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 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.

CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY AND CONSUMERS UNION CHALLENGE GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER’S VETO OF CLONED FOOD BILL ON FEDERAL PREEMPTION GROUNDS

Groups to Introduce Similar Cloned Food Labeling Bill Next Legislative Session

San Francisco—The Center for Food Safety and Consumers Union today sent a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger and members of the California Legislature challenging Governor Schwarzenegger’s recent veto of the California Cloned Food Labeling Act (SB 63). The bill, introduced by Senator Migden, would have required labeling of milk, meat and dairy products from cloned animals. The letter criticizes the Governor’s claim that SB 63 is pre-empted by federal law, calling this reasoning “legally unsound, disingenuous and inaccurate.” A copy of the letter can be found at: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/pubs/CA_cloning_letter.doc

The groups pledge to help introduce a similar cloned food labeling bill in California in the next legislative session. Federal law applies only to meat, not dairy products. The Governor’s veto only referred to the federal meat labeling law, a tacit acknowledgement of this fact. “Currently there is a blank slate in the area of food from cloned animals, and state lawmakers can create dairy labeling statutes without fear of federal preemption,” explained Rebecca Spector, Center for Food Safety’s West Coast Director.

Experts say milk, cheese and other dairy products from cloned animals will be the first such food products to reach California stores, and will make up the vast majority of the cloned food market.

There are two federal laws that address meat labeling. However according to the two groups, they do not preempt cloned meat labeling in California. “Neither of these laws even mentions cloned meat, so they simply don’t apply,” Spector said.

“Governor Schwarzenegger’s veto is a slap in the face to a majority of consumers who say they want milk and meat from cloned animals to be labeled,” said Elisa Odabashian, Consumers Union’s West Coast Director. “Without labeling, not only will consumers be unable to choose whether or not to buy cloned food, but government food safety agencies will be unable to track any long-term impacts of cloned food on human health.” According to a recent survey by Consumers Union, more than 89 percent of Americans want food from cloned animals to be labeled.

At the federal level, the groups, along with, the Consumer Federation of America, Farm Sanctuary, Food & Water Watch, the Humane Society of the United States, the American Anti-Vivisection Society, and Union of Concerned Scientists, are also urging the inclusion of a recent amendment concerning food products from cloned animals in the 2007 Farm Bill (H.R. 2419). Amendment No. 3524, introduced by Senators Mikulski and Specter, would ensure that the potential human health, animal health, and economic impacts associated with animal cloning that are missing from the FDA’s risk assessment are fully analyzed before any products derived from clones are introduced into the food market. The organizations are deeply concerned over the Food and Drug Administration’s issuance of an inadequate draft risk assessment that endorses the safety of milk and meat derived from cloned animals and their progeny.

The issuance of the final risk assessment, which could happen as early as January, 2008, would pave the way for the unfettered commercialization of meat and milk from cloned animals without labeling requirements.

Support Amendment to Stop Animal Cloning in the Farm Bill!

The FDA will soon make a final decision on whether food from cloned animals is safe to enter our food supply. They released their preliminary risk assessment in December and received over 145,000 public comments opposing the unlabeled introduction of meat and milk from animal clones.

We need to know more before the FDA releases cloned animals into our food supply. The health risks associated with the consumption of food products from cloned animals is not well documented or available to consumers. Denmark has already banned food from cloned animals and the entire European Union is examining this closely. The California state legislature recently passed a bill requiring labeling of products from clones animals, and though the Governor vetoed it, it is a clear sign that consumers do not want this technology on their plates.

To address these concerns, Senators Mikulski and Specter have introduced an amendment (Amendment #3524) to the Farm Bill to address the need for more information about food products from cloned animals. The studies focus on elements not included in the FDA initial risk assessment:

- Implications of permitting food from cloned animals into the food supply, particularly meat and milk exports shifts that would take place as other countries react and potentially ban exports from the United States;
- Effectiveness of programs already in place at USDA to monitor food products from cloned animals;
- Documentation of the health effects and costs attributed to milk from cloned animals in the food supply; and
- Evaluation of the potential public health effects and associated health care costs attributable to the commercialization of food from cloned animals

The FDA should not be permitted to issue the final risk assessment on the safety of cloned animals and food products derived from cloned animals until these studies are done.

Please take a moment to contact your Senators and tell them you SUPPORT Senator Mikulski and Specter’s amendment (#3524) to delay cloning until we know more.