A Victory Against Cloned Food! |
Egret Riding a Cow (photo courtesy of pdphoto.org)
The Cornucopia Institute has sent a press release announcing that the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), an expert advisory panel to the USDA’s National Organic Program, has made it clear that organic agriculture should not allow the use of cloned animals or their offspring in the production of organic food. The NOSB voted at their spring meeting in Washington, DC to exclude cloned animals, their offspring, and any food products from cloned animals from the organic sector.
“This is a victory for farmers, consumers and retailers who want to protect organic food and agriculture from a highly controversial and experimental technology,” said Will Fantle of The Cornucopia Institute, a farm policy and organic watchdog group. “This vote seeks to plant a flag squarely in the center of the organic food sector, declaring it off limits to cloning while providing consumers a clear choice in the marketplace,” Fantle added.
The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced last December that they were ready to approve the commercialization of cloning in livestock agriculture and indicated that they would not seek any identifying labels on cloned meat, dairy and other food products sold in the nation’s grocery stores.
The 12-0 vote (with one abstention) against cloning within organic production occurred after the NOSB heard public comments over 3 days from numerous representatives of farm, consumer, retail and non-profit groups calling for the cloning ban in organics. Cornucopia also presented the Board with a letter signed by 70 retailers and farm groups from across the country that supported a cloning ban. Representatives from the Center for Food Safety, Consumers Union, and the Organic Consumers Association were among those testifying in favor of a cloning ban in organics.
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