Labour MEPs: 'We don't need cloned food'

Labour MEPs today (20 February) voted to put animal welfare ahead of controversial farming practices in a key vote on the cloning of animals.

Labour states that "the scientific evidence is clear that the cloning of animals is cruel - with the potential to cause pain, suffering and distress at all stages of the process. The surrogate dams suffer from high mortality rates, and even after they give birth, about a third of their babies do not survive longer than a few weeks. Charities like the RSPCA have criticised the use of the technique for wasting animals' lives."

At present, there are no rules concerning whether animal cloning can be used for food production, and this is what the vote today aimed to address. The use of the technique for food production is growing in countries such as the US, and there is pressure on Europe to follow suit. Eating actual clones will not happen as they are too expensive to be a commercially viable food source. It is the eating of the offspring of clones that is very much in debate - these are the animals that are bred for the food chain.

Linda McAvan MEP, Labour's European spokeswoman on the environment, said: "Labour MEPs would prefer we don't get involved in cloning but, at the very least, we want meat and milk from cloned animals to be labelled. People should have a right to know whether their supermarket purchases are driving a practice that is widely recognised to have serious implications for animal welfare.

"This is about what kind of farming we want for the future. We don't need cloning in the food chain - it is simply not necessary for food production."

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