NO Clones for Dinner in the U.S.!
fdadockets(at)oc.fda.gov, andrew.voneschenbach(at)fda.hhs.gov, robert.brackett(at)fda.hhs.gov, david.acheson(at)fda.hhs.gov, denise.riley(at)fda.hhs.gov, leslye.fraser(at)fda.hhs.gov, robert.buchanan(at)fda.hhs.gov, thomas.cebula(at)fda.hhs.gov, Mike.Leavitt_G06(at)hhs.gov, denise.schwarz(at)hhs.gov, FSIS.Labeling(at)usda.gov, NACMPI(at)fsis.usda.gov, FSISTechnology(at)usda.gov, FSIS.RegulationsComments(at)usda.gov, mphotline.fsis(at)usda.gov
Dockets Management Branch (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration
Rockville, MD 20852
U.S. Food And Drug Administration
Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D.
Acting Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Rockville, Maryland 20857
web feedback form: http://www.fda.gov/comments/webform.html
website: http://www.fda.gov/ * http://directory.psc.gov/employee.htm
FDA/Center For Food Safety & Applied Nutrition
College Park, Maryland 20740-3835
Robert E. Brackett, Ph.D., CFSAN Office of the Center Director
David W.K. Acheson, M.D., CFSAN Office of Food Defense, Safety and Outreach Director
Denise Knox-Riley, CFSAN Office of Management Systems Director
Leslye M. Fraser, J.D., CFSAN Office of Regulations and Policy Director
Robert L. Buchanan, Ph.D., CFSAN Office of Science Director
Thomas A. Cebula, Ph.D., CFSAN Office of Applied Research and Safety
Assessment Director
Mike Leavitt, Secretary of Health and Human Services
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Washington, DC 20201
FDA/Food Safety and Inspection Service
FSIS Food Safety Education and Communications Staff
Labeling requirements for meat, poultry, egg products
National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection:
New Technology Staff
Dear Madams and Sirs of the FDA:
Once again America's network of food safety agencies sidesteps ethics in favor of economics. The Food and Drug Administration's conclusion that food derived from cloned animals is identical to food from authentic livestock -- and thus marketable -- wholly discounts the well-being of cloned animals.
Please register my firm opposition to the FDA's pending approval of saleable meat and milk from cloned animals and their offspring.
Many peer-reviewed studies show animals suffer significantly. Stillbirths and premature deaths account for substantial cloning failure rates. Surviving animals are commonly malformed with intestinal blockages, diabetes, contracted tendons, misshapen feet, and diminished immune systems. Cloned animals have malfunctioning hearts, brains, livers and kidneys. Some live with respiratory ailments or circulatory disorders.
In 1996, scientists cloned Dolly, a sheep whose untimely demise from lung disease prompted ethical questions. Since then, a 2003 analysis of cloning techniques in cows showed less than 5 percent of cloned embryos implanted into cows survived. Surrogate mothers endure fetal overgrowth, multiple injections and surgeries, and fatal pregnancies. As recently as June 2005, a FDA spokesperson disclosed that young cloned animals are more prone to birth defects and health complications.
The FDA disregards ample research that links cloning animals with more fatalities and deformities than other reproductive technologies, states Carol Tucker Foreman, director of food policy at the Consumer Federation of America.
Moreover, what is the point? A 2005 scientific review verified that cloning livestock does not discernibly boost agricultural efficiency. Consumers are not thrilled about the idea either. A Gallup poll finds 65% of Americans morally opposed to cloning animals and an industry survey reveals 62% are disinclined to purchase goods processed from cloned animals.
At the very least, regulatory agencies need to enforce a mandatory (not voluntary) moratorium on food items from cloned animals and institute compulsory rules for pre-market food safety and environmental impact of cloned foods. The FDA's belief that cloned foods don't require special labels is unacceptable. Consumers have a right to choose, based upon a product's clearly labeled origin.
I strongly urge the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a federal oversight committee to counsel the FDA on ethical concerns related to animal cloning.
Sincerely,
