Cloned food

The European Commission today presented proposals on food from clones, including a proposal for a temporary 5-year ban. The Greens welcomed that the Commission finally recognises the serious concerns with cloning, but regret that the proposal fails to include food from the offspring of cloned animals, which is key to addressing the concerns. In response to the proposal, Belgian Green MEP Bart Staes commented:

"Today's proposal for a temporary ban is certainly a step towards recognising the serious concerns with cloning but it is regrettable that the Commission has failed to include the offspring from cloned animals, as this is crucial to addressing these concerns. The result is that cloning will still be allowed to take place, causing unnecessary harm to animals, and that the food from the offspring of clones will make its way on to our plates, even though the long term health risks have not been properly assessed.

"Simply banning food from clones is not enough, as it is generally the offspring of clones and not clones themselves that are used for food. There is a need to go further and ban food from the offspring of clones, as well as clone semen and embryos. It is also little more than window-dressing to ban cloning in Europe but allow the import of food from the offspring of clones. The European Parliament has already recognised this and we will continue to work to ensure a comprehensive ban is put in place.

"The commitment to establish a traceability system for cloned animals is welcome. This step was long overdue and will help ensure the proper regulation and control of this technique, which has been allowed to balloon without proper assessment of its impacts."