Eurogroup for Animals welcomes the proposed temporary ban of the use of cloning of animals for food use detailed in the leaked draft report of DG SANCO due to be adopted by the College of Commissioners next week. This, if adopted, goes some way towards supporting the position recently adopted by the European Parliament in its second reading of the Novel Foods Regulation. However, it still does not cover the offspring of cloned animals and this must also be addressed to ensure consumer safety and animal welfare.
"Eurogroup for Animals welcomes this initiative from the Commission but is disappointed that food from cloned animals will still be available and on sale in European shops despite this ban. It is imperative that the ban includes the offspring of cloned animals to ensure that all products originating from cloned animals are removed from the European market," said Sonja Van Tichelen, Director of Eurogroup for Animals.
"We do not accept the Commission’s position that it would be impossible to enforce a ban that includes the offspring of cloned animals, as meat traceability systems are already in place. We believe that the Commission should use the five year period proposed for the ban to develop robust systems in the same way as was undertaken in the BSE crisis to ensure food safety is maintained at the highest level," added Van Tichelen.
"The Commission must recognise that if the European Union is to be successful it must believe in the standards it sets. International trade will continue to grow and we must maintain our standards and now bow to pressure by third countries to allow food products produced to much lower standards than permitted in Europe to enter our markets. Our consumers believe that cloning is unacceptable and ethically unsupportable and this proposal must address these concerns and the Commission must remain strong in its discussions with trade partners to defend a ban," she concluded.
The Commission states that "it is difficult to justify" a moratorium on imports of reproductive material from clones as it sees "no health or food safety concerns". This is extremely worrying as it is basing its decision on a body of evidence which is extremely small and which does not conclusively agree with this position. The Commission should adopt the precautionary principle in this case until there is sufficient evidence available to ensure that there are no health or food safety concerns.
It is vital that the European Parliament remains strong in this debate and sticks to its position in calling for a complete ban of products from cloned animals or their offspring. Cloning as a method of food production is being pursued without public awareness and in spite of well-documented public concerns relating to the use of biotechnology in food production (e.g. GM foods). This is unacceptable and Eurogroup will continue to work alongside the European Parliament to outlaw animal cloning and to ensure that no more animals suffer as a consequence of this technique, whether in the European Union or in third countries.
