Why Is Cloned Meat Creating Such A Stir In Europe?

Move over 8 winged, multi legged KFC chicken, because Old McDonald just started cloning! Ee ya ee ya o!

Ban The Clan

EU officials have voted to ban the sale of milk and beef from cloned animals and their offspring after concerns the products could be of ‘dubious quality’.

The European Commission had been ready to ban animal cloning in the 28-nation bloc, but MEPs have said it had to go further to halt all imports and the use of cloned products to ease public concerns about food safety.

Why the pirated animals?

Up until now, cloned farm animals – which are hugely expensive to develop – are not used for food but for breeding purposes, with their embryos and semen used widely in the United States, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.

The Commission’s current proposal bans farm animal cloning but would allow the sale of meat and milk produced by their descendants.

But German lawmaker, Renate Sommer, who has been leading the report through the European Parliament, has called for the ban to go further.

She said: ‘The technique of cloning is not fully mature, and in fact, no further progress has been made.

‘Many cloned animals die in the first few weeks and they die painfully. Should we allow that?

Current Scenario

‘Up to now, we have been able to import reproductive material from third countries. We are washing our hands letting others do the dirty work.

‘We want to ban comprehensively. Not just the use of cloning techniques but the imports of reproductive material, clones and their descendants. I’d like to ask the European Commission to rethink this whole thing.’

But…

EU Food and Health Safety Commissioner Vytenis Andriukatitis said the restrictions in the report were not ‘justified’ arguing that descendants of cloned animals showed no health problems while a complete ban might be difficult to sustain in law.

Brussels’ Breach

Lawmakers and the public are deeply suspicious Brussels could allow widespread use of animal cloning and genetically modified foods under the terms of a massive free trade agreement being negotiated with the United States.

EU leaders insist health standards will not suffer but Parliament remains skeptical about the merits of what is known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Health Aspect

Giula Moi, who with Renate Sommer brought the recommendations forward, said: ‘We need to take into account the impact on animal health but also on human health.

‘This report sends the message to our trade partners that we are not willing to put our own health, our families’ health, and future generations’ health at stake using products of dubious quality of this nature.

‘We want to be sure that we don’t go down a path from which there is no return.