FDA Defies Congress, Approves Animal Cloning
Help Pass Cloning Legislation

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its final risk assessment on animal cloning on January 15, 2008, approving the sale of cloned animals for food. The move came despite overwhelming opposition from the public, the concerns of many food industry companies, and the protests of animal and consumer advocates, all of whom feel that the issues surrounding cloning have been largely ignored or inadequately assessed by the FDA.

The FDA decision was also a clear act of defiance against Congress. AAVS had been working closely with members of Congress to pass legislation to prevent the FDA from allowing animals to be cloned for food. As 2007 came to an end, we saw those efforts pay off with the passage of not just one, but two provisions on animal cloning.

Language was added to the $515 billion Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2764), signed into law on December 26, 2007, that strongly encouraged the FDA to maintain the moratorium on animal cloning and instructed the agency to conduct an economic impacts study with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Surveys have shown that the vast majority of consumers are opposed to animal cloning, and most would not eat cloned food even if the FDA declared it safe.

In addition, AAVS worked with Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) to include an even stronger provision on animal cloning in the Farm Bill (H.R. 2419). The amendment explicitly required the FDA to delay issuing its final decision until additional studies on human health, animal health, and economic impacts could be completed. The Senate Farm Bill passed by an overwhelming majority of 79 to 14, and is scheduled to go to conference to be reconciled with the House version, which does not include the cloning provision.

By releasing its decision before the Farm Bill was completed, the FDA exploited a loophole and ignored the will of Congress and the public. It is not too late to stop animal cloning, however. The USDA has only requested that the voluntary moratorium be maintained while the market transitions. During this time, it is essential that Congress take action to protect American consumers and animals by banning animal cloning.

We need your help to make sure that the final Farm Bill includes Senators Mikulski's and Specter's provisions, requiring additional studies and a mandatory moratorium to keep cloned animals off the market during this review. The phone calls you made and the letters you sent to your Congressional legislators last year were instrumental in getting animal cloning legislation passed, despite fierce opposition from the biotech industry. Please make your voice heard again so we can end animal cloning!

What You Can Do:
Please contact members of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees and ask them to support the provision on the Farm Bill that would require additional studies and maintain a moratorium on cloned animals and their offspring. To contact the Senate Agriculture Committee, please visit http://agriculture.senate.gov. To contact the House Agriculture Committee, e-mail agriculture@mail.house.gov.

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