Release Date: December 28, 2006
We are reassured that the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) draft review finds no health or safety issues with food from cloned animals. FDA and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) support the conclusion that milk from cloned cows is no different than milk from conventionally bred cows. At the same time, we support the FDA's decision to maintain the moratorium on milk and meat from cloned animals entering the food supply during this important comment period. Since animal cloning is a new technology, it's important that we have a thorough, deliberative comment period where people can openly discuss any concerns they may have.
It's also important to stress that cloning is a niche-market technology, and it remains to be seen whether dairy farmers will choose to use it. There are currently very few cloned dairy cows in this country – only about 150 cows out of the 9 million total U.S. dairy cows – and many of these are "show" animals. Dairy farmers and cattle ranchers have been using safe and proven methods to breed the best livestock for decades; once FDA's review is complete, cloning may give some farmers another option in breeding animals.
Milk and milk products are among the most tested and regulated foods in this country. All dairy foods undergo extensive and rigorous safety and quality tests before they reach the consumer.
Additional Information:
• For more information on dairy farming, go to www.dairyfarmingtoday.org.
• For additional information on FDA's assessment, go to www.fda.gov/cvm/cloning.htm.
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