In January 2006, the FDA began a deliberation regarding the idea of approving the sale of meat and milk derived from cloned animals and their offspring. As tasty as that sounds, cloned food would not have to be labeled, and as a result, consumers’ lose their right to know what they are eating,if they are eating an “experiment”, and simply, their right of choice. In January 2008, the FDA confirmed that yes, these experiments would be making it to our dinner tables.

With this in mind, widespread concern about food safety and risks were combined with ethical concerns; Congress, too, voted twice to delay the decision, and 150,000+ Americans opposed said approval.

Like genetically modified foods, animal cloning is a scientific lab experiment with risks for food safety. Because this is a fairly new process, there are no long-term studies done, and defects in cloning is not uncommon.

So how can you keep cloned foods out of the grocery cart?

Shop organic.

This past month, Canada has declared that any products that are derived from cloned animals cannot be associated with organic labeling.

The Organic Products Regulations, coming into practice June 30th, 2009, is combined with a variety of other revised guidelines, regulating organic foods. Among them is a ban on cloned organic products. Companies selling an organic product can only slap on the label if they meet the standards – one being absolutely no cloned products at all.

The new regulations also ensure that products using “organic” or “Canada Organic” logos are certified according to the Canadian Organic Standards. These products will be clone-free, and contain at least 95% organic ingredients.  In addition, all imported organic products that are sold in Canada will be required to be certified by an accredited certification body that follows the specific regulations by the Canada Organic Standard.

The only version of food I want to enjoy is the original, and not a scientifically derived derivative. In that case, make mine organic.

For more information about organic regulations in Canada, visit:

Organic Council of Ontario
Government Inspection Agency
Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada

For information about cloning and food safety, visit:

Centre for Food Safety

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