Food Democracy

Organic Valley, the nation’s oldest and largest cooperative of organic family farmers, strongly opposes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s ruling that food from cloned animals and their offspring is safe.

“Organic Valley farmers work in harmony with nature; we don’t seek to alter it,” said George Siemon, chief executive officer for Organic Valley. “Organic Valley and its meat brand, Organic Prairie, will never allow the use of cloned animals on our farms and in our products. And, we assume the USDA will never change its organic standards to allow for cloned animals.

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California wants to protect its consumers from the possible unknown risks of consuming food from cloned animals and their offspring by proposing a bill requiring such products to display clear and prominent labels.

The bill was brought forward by California State Senator Carol Migden after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made its controversial announcement this month saying milk and meat from cloned animals are safe for sale to the public.

“The federal agency charged with protecting our food supply has failed us,” said Rebecca Spector, West Coast Director of the Center for Food Safety. Read the rest of this entry »

Cyagra is one of three privately held biotech start-ups making clones of genetically superior livestock for thousands of dollars apiece. In the coming years, they hope the rest of the U.S. — and the world — will join them in dining on steaks, pork chops and ice cream derived from animals conceived in their laboratories.

After reviewing hundreds of scientific studies, the FDA concluded last week that food produced from clones and their progeny is as safe to eat as conventional fare. The agency cleared the way for meat and milk from the offspring of cloned cattle, pigs and goats to be sold at grocery stores and restaurants without any special labeling. Food from the clones themselves is expected to follow after a transition period of unspecified length.

Though consumers are skeptical about this new culinary era, Cyagra, ViaGen Inc. and Trans Ova Genetics are enthusiastic. Some had bet the farm on FDA approval and were struggling to survive as the final decision was delayed to address concerns of consumer groups, the public and some members of Congress.

Over the next five years, the market for cloned animals in the U.S. is expected to reach nearly $50 million annually, according to industry analysts. Read the rest of this entry »

Are you concerned about cloned food in your food supply? Are you wondering what difference you can make? Then take one minute and add your name to the petition at the Center for Food Safety.

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) has publicly reiterated that meat, milk and other products produced from cloned animals can not be sold as organic in the United States.

OTA issued the reassurance after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its conclusion that foods from cloned animals and their offspring are as safe as those produced from traditionally bred animals. FDA posted a risk assessment report, risk management plan and guidance for industry to outline its regulatory approach on animal cloning.

The national organic standards enforced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture require that organisms be developed and grown by systems that must be compatible with natural conditions and processes–including the breeding and raising of animals for meat and for dairy or other animal production. Read the rest of this entry »

The USDA yesterday asked U.S. farmers to keep their cloned animals off the market indefinitely even as FDA officials announced that food from cloned livestock is safe to eat.

Bruce I. Knight, the USDA’s undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, requested an ongoing “voluntary moratorium” (repeat voluntary, like in “voluntary recall” and “voluntary ban,” meaning “we won’t make you do it”) to buy time for “an acceptance process” that Knight said consumers in the US and abroad will need, “given the emotional nature of this issue.”

The fact that 64 percent of US consumers apparently don’t want to eat food from clones hasn’t yet dimmed the excitement (Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology survey, 2006, CNN unofficial poll this a.m.); and since the FDA won’t be requiring any special labeling for the products, maybe it never will.

Technically, many unknowing consumers may already be eating cloned food. Livestock cloning has been going on since at least 2002. In 2003, the FDA issued a voluntary ban on food products from cloned animals and their offspring until the organization could look into the safety of those products. The milk, meat and other animal products that were on store shelves before the ban were never labeled as coming from clones, and the later ban relied on voluntary self-regulation within the livestock industry. It has never actually been illegal to sell cloned animal products. Read the rest of this entry »

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a preliminary safety assessment that clears the way for marketing of meat and dairy products from cloned animals for human consumption. The assessment and the agency’s endorsement of cloned food comes despite widespread concern among scientists and food safety advocates over the safety of such products. The move to market cloned milk and meat also flies in the face of dairy and food industry concern and recent consumer opinion polls showing that most Americans do not want these experimental foods. What’s worse, FDA indicates that it will not require labeling on cloned food, so consumers will have no way to avoid these experimental foods. Read the rest of this entry »

Food from cloned animals will take longer than expected to enter our food supply, following the passage of a provision in the Senate’s Farm Bill that requires more testing. The amendment calls for a rigorous review of the human health and economic impacts of introducing cloned foods. Read the rest of this entry »

Smithfield Foods, a leading US pork firm, has said it will not produce pork from cloned animals because the technology is still too new. The company’s statement places Smithfield amongst the growing number of companies that have rejected the technology.

“Smithfield Foods is not planning to produce meat products from cloned animals. The science involved in cloning animals is relatively new. As thoughtful leaders in our industry, we will continue to monitor this technology,” said the company.

Consumers have not showed signs of warming to the idea of eating food produced through cloning. Such concerns have prompted food firms to confirm they will not be using the technology in their production. Dean Foods, Stonyfield Farms, Organic Valley, Ben & Jerry’s and Straus Family Creamery are amongst those that have pledged not to accept milk from cloned cows. Read the rest of this entry »