WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) went to the Senate floor today to highlight the need for labels on cloned food in all restaurants and retail stores in response to indications that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may soon endorse the use of meat, milk and other food from cloned animals.

“The FDA tells us that once they determine it is safe, they will allow cloned food to enter the market unidentified, unlabeled, unbeknownst to all of us and completely indistinguishable from all other food. I am not forcing these foods off the shelf, I just want them labeled,” said Senator Mikulski. “If cloned food is safe, let it onto the market, but give consumers the information they need to avoid these products. Americans must be able to speak with their dollars and choose the food they have confidence is safe.”

Senator Mikulski has introduced the Cloned Food Labeling Act (S. 414), which requires the FDA and the Department of Agriculture to mandate that all food that comes from cloned animals be labeled: THIS PRODUCT IS FROM A CLONED ANIMAL OR ITS PROGENY.

Click here for text of the Cloned Food Labeling Act.

Senator Mikulski’s statement as prepared is below:

“I rise today to talk about a bill I introduced last week – The Cloned Food Labeling Act. This bill will require the government to label any food that comes from a cloned animal or its progeny.

“I am strongly opposed to the FDA approving meat and milk products from cloned animals for human consumption. No one needs cloned milk and meat. Most Americans actively oppose it. The scientists say we should monitor it. But the FDA decided food from cloned animals is safe to eat. And, since they decided it’s ‘safe,’ they will not require it be labeled as coming from a cloned animal.

“The American people don’t want this. They find it repugnant! Gallup Polls report over 60 percent of Americans think it is immoral to clone animals and the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology found that a similar percentage say, despite FDA approval, they won't buy cloned milk.

“The scientists at the National Academies of Science (NAS) reported that, so far, studies show no problems with food from cloned animals, but they admit this is brand new science. What about the unintended consequences? These scientists caution the federal government, and recommend this technology be monitored for potential health effects. They urge diligent post-market surveillance.

“But the FDA tells us, once they determine it is safe, they will allow the food to enter the market unidentified, unlabeled, unbeknownst to all of us and completely indistinguishable from all other food.

“Consumers won’t be able to tell which foods came from a cloned animal. Which burger is really ‘Dolly on a bun?’ Should Americans be compelled to eat anything a scientist can produce in the laboratory? Just because they can make it, should Americans be required to eat it? Of course not! The public deserves to know if their food comes from a cloned animal.

“To help the American public make an informed decision on this, I introduced a bill to require all food that comes from a cloned animal, or its progeny, be labeled. This legislation will require the FDA and the Department of Agriculture to label all food that comes from a cloned animal or their progeny. The label will read: THIS PRODUCT IS FROM A CLONED ANIMAL OR ITS PROGENY. The public must be able to decide which food to buy with confidence to feed to our families. And I mean ALL food, not just the packages from the supermarket, but the meals we choose from a menu.

“The FDA has a responsibility to guarantee the safety of our food. Though many aspects of food safety are beyond their control, this is not. It is their job to keep our food supply safe. Americans don’t know enough about the long-term effects of cloned animals in our food supply to have the FDA guarantee the food from cloned animals is safe. Is the decision to allow this into our food supply influenced by factors other than keeping the public safe? Are they allowing an eager industry to force a questionably scientific process on an unknowing public?

“The public simply does not have the same trust in the FDA that we once had. Recently the Wall Street Journal found over half of Americans do not think the FDA does a good job keeping our drug supply safe. Americans want to trust the FDA with the safety of our food supply, but what if they are wrong? FDA has told us this before – we were told that asbestos was safe. Would you want asbestos in your home? Or in your school? We were told DDT was safe, we were told Thalidomide was safe, we were told Vioxx was safe. What if the FDA has made a mistake and finds out a few years from now there is a problem? This message of safety is brought to you by same FDA that has been rocked by scandal – put a veterinarian in charge of woman’s health and had a former Commissioner investigated for fraudulent practices. Now the FDA is trying to right themselves. What if they are wrong about the safety of cloned food?

“If America doesn’t keep track of this from the very beginning, with clear and dependable labeling, our entire food supply could become contaminated. If the food is not properly labeled, it cannot be removed from the shelves like with unsafe drugs such as Vioxx and Celebrex. America must be proactive – the FDA must label these foods.

“I am not forcing these foods off the shelf, I just want them labeled. Tell it like it is. I’ve heard some groups don’t want a label on these foods. What are they afraid of? If this doesn’t matter to the American public, the label won’t matter. Are they afraid that consumers will find this ghoulish and repugnant and won’t buy these products? Right now all our milk and meat is clone-free. Why should cloned food automatically become the default food?

“I reject the notion that the FDA or anyone else should force Americans to accept and consume any product that can be manufactured in a lab, no matter how offensive the product is. The public needs to insist that the FDA treat the public fairly. If cloned food is safe, let it onto the market, but give consumers the information they need to avoid these products. Americans must be able to speak with their dollars and choose the food they have confidence is safe.”