'Ban cloned meat and milk until new laws are in place', says Euro-MP - 2010-09-08

Cloned meat and milk should be off the menu until a new law is in place to regulate cloning. That's the message from Linda McAvan MEP, Labour's European spokesperson for the environment, public health and food safety, who has called for an EU-wide moratorium on all food products from cloned animals.

Linda made the call ahead of a statement this evening (Wednesday) from the European Commission on the use of cloned meat in food production following reports in the summer that meat from a cloned cow's offspring had already entered the British food chain.

The sale of cloned meat currently falls under the EU's Regulation on Novel Foods, which sets out rules for foods made with new ingredients or technologies. Under this law, food from cloned animals must be authorised by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) before it can be put on sale. However, there is a grey area in current legislation about food products from the offspring of cloned animals.

MEPs and ministers from the 27 EU countries are currently examining a new law which would regulate cloning, but until that law is in place, there is little to stop food from the descendants of cloned animals entering the food chain.

Linda McAvan said: "There are huge ethical issues around the cloning of animals. It is not just a question about food safety. It is about what kind of farming and food we want. We know that animal welfare is affected by cloning - there is no scientific doubt on this. Most clones die in pregnancy and almost a third die shortly after birth for reasons not yet clear.

"Cloned calves are heavier and often require a caesarean section. And there are also concerns for the longer term. If animal herds are too genetically similar, they could be wiped out by a single disease. We need to have a full public debate about cloning and that is why we need a moratorium now on cloned food products until that debate has happened and legislation is in place."

› Back