Leahy, Kohl Introduce Bill
Prohibiting Cloned Products From Organic Labeling

WASHINGTON (Thursday, Feb. 8) - U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) Thursday introduced legislation to bar products that are produced from cloned livestock from receiving an organic food label under the National Organic Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

According to emerging legal analysis, prompted by recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) action, the federal definition of organic food could allow cloned animal products to be labeled organic.

“Any attempt to allow cloned animal products to carry the organic label would be inconsistent with the national organic standards and labeling program,” said Leahy, the “father” of the program and author of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990.  “Recent USDA statements unfortunately have called that fact into question.  Ensuring that the organic label stands for the highest possible standards is essential to ensuring and maintaining consumer confidence in our rapidly growing organic market.” 

 “This bill has one purpose and one purpose only, to protect the integrity of organic standards,” Kohl said.  “The conditions under which cloned animal products enter our food supply will be much debated in the months and years to come.  But I would hope that we can begin that discussion with general consensus that it is not acceptable for cloned food products to enter the marketplace under the organic label.”

Both the Agricultural Marking Service, which runs USDA’s National Organic Program, and the National Organic Standards Board, which sets guidelines for the organic food labeling, have indicated that they will take up this issue when they meet later this year.

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