EU Ethics Group Advises Against Cloning Animals For Food
The European Group on Ethics released on opinion stipulating that science and new technologies did not find any argument to justify the production of food from clones and their offspring. Instead, it recommends promoting public debates on the impact of cloning farm animals on agriculture, the environment, and society at large.
According to an opinion released by the European Group on Ethics (EGE), there are no convincing arguments to justify the production of food from cloned animals, particularly in consideration of the current levels of suffering and health problems of the animals involved.
However, if food from cloned animals is introduced into the European market, the EGE states that (excerpted from article):
- The safety of food products for human consumption must be guaranteed;
- the guidance on animal welfare provided by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) must be followed, and;
- EU legislation on the traceability of animals and their food products should be enforced, including traceability of imports and global trade.
The EGE also recommends additional studies on long-term animal welfare and the health of clones, in addition to additional public debate on “the impact of farm animal cloning on agriculture and the environment, on the societal impact of increasing meat consumption and rearing bovines, as well as the fair distribution of food resources.”