Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed bill to label products from cloned animals

The California Legislation passed a bill (SB 63) introduced by Senator Migen to require that meat and dairy products from cloned animals be clearly labeled as such. Unfortunately, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed it.

"Governor Schwarzenegger's veto is a slap in the face to a majority of consumers who say they want milk and meat from cloned to be labeled," said Elisa Odabashian, Consumers Union’s West Coast Director. "Without labeling, not only will consumers be unable to choose whether or not to buy cloned food, but government food safety agencies will be unable to track any long-term impacts of cloned food on human health."

According to a recent survey by Consumers Union, more than 89 percent of Americans want food from cloned animals to be labeled. At the federal level, the groups, along with, the Consumer Federation of America, Farm Sanctuary, Food & Water Watch, the Humane Society of the United States, the American Anti-Vivisection Society, and Union of Concerned Scientists, are also urging the inclusion of a recent amendment concerning food products from cloned animals in the 2007 Farm Bill (H.R. 2419). Amendment No. 3524, introduced by Senators Mikulski and Specter, would ensure that the potential human health, animal health, and economic impacts associated with animal cloning that are missing from the FDA's risk assessment are fully analyzed before any products derived from clones are introduced into the food market. The organizations are deeply concerned over the FDA's issuance of an inadequate draft risk assessment that endorses the safety of milk and meat derived from cloned animals and their progeny.

Experts say milk, cheese and other dairy products from cloned animals will be the first such food products to reach California stores, and will make up the vast majority of the cloned food market.

According to the Center for Food Safety, they will continue to work with California Legislators to get a labeling bill passed. Write to Governor Schwarzenegger and let him know we have the right to know where our food is coming from.