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News & Reports
cloning
European Commission proposes a ban on cloning for farming purposes THE European Commission (EC) has tabled three proposed new laws to govern animal cloning and novel food within the EU. The first draft law would place a temporary ban on the use of cloning techniques for farming purposes in the EU. It would cover cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and horses. It would also ban the importation of clones of these animals into the EU. A second draft law would ban the marketing of food from animal clones, preventing products such as meat or milk from being placed on the EU market. In a statement published on December 18, Tonio Borg, the European Commissioner for Health, said that the aim of the draft laws was to address the animal welfare and ethical concerns related to the use of cloning techniques. However, he emphasised that cloning would still be allowed for purposes such as research, conservation of rare breeds and endangered species, or for use in the production of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, where the technique could be justified. ‘Let me be clear,’ he said, ‘today’s policy 32 | Veterinary Record | January 11, 2014
proposal is that no cloning for farming purposes will be carried out in the EU and no such clone will be imported as long as animal welfare concerns persist.’ He added: ‘The measures on animal cloning provide a clear EU policy that responds to animal welfare concerns as well as consumer perceptions on food from animal clones in a realistic and workable way.’ The third proposed piece of legislation would modify the existing European Novel Food Regulation and aims to improve access for new and innovative food to the EU market, but with a continued high level of protection for consumers. Under the draft law, novel food (food which was not consumed in the EU to a significant extent before May 1997, and particularly food produced using new techniques and technologies) would be subject to a ‘simpler, clearer and more efficient authorisation procedure’. This would be centralised at EU level and, the EC says, should enable safe and innovative food to reach the EU market more quickly.
The EC says that protecting innovation is a key feature of the draft law and that, under the proposed system, in the case of innovation supported by new scientific developments, a food company submitting an application would be authorised to market the food for five years before it could be produced by others. In his statement, Commissioner Borg said that the changes on novel food would create a more efficient and cost-effective authorisations system, which would offer European consumers the benefit of a broad choice of foodstuffs and provide a favourable environment for Europe’s food industry to be innovative and competitive in a rapidly evolving and dynamic sector. The draft laws will now go forward for consideration by other EU institutions, including the European Parliament and European Council. Commissioner Borg said that he looked forward to ‘a smooth interinstitutional debate’, and that the new measures could come into force in 2016 at the earliest. doi: 10.1136/vr.g105
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on July 9, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
European Commission proposes a ban on cloning for farming purposes Veterinary Record 2014 174: 32
doi: 10.1136/vr.g105 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/174/2/32
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To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
News & Reports
cloning
European Commission proposes a ban on cloning for farming purposes THE European Commission (EC) has tabled three proposed new laws to govern animal cloning and novel food within the EU. The first draft law would place a temporary ban on the use of cloning techniques for farming purposes in the EU. It would cover cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and horses. It would also ban the importation of clones of these animals into the EU. A second draft law would ban the marketing of food from animal clones, preventing products such as meat or milk from being placed on the EU market. In a statement published on December 18, Tonio Borg, the European Commissioner for Health, said that the aim of the draft laws was to address the animal welfare and ethical concerns related to the use of cloning techniques. However, he emphasised that cloning would still be allowed for purposes such as research, conservation of rare breeds and endangered species, or for use in the production of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, where the technique could be justified. ‘Let me be clear,’ he said, ‘today’s policy 32 | Veterinary Record | January 11, 2014
proposal is that no cloning for farming purposes will be carried out in the EU and no such clone will be imported as long as animal welfare concerns persist.’ He added: ‘The measures on animal cloning provide a clear EU policy that responds to animal welfare concerns as well as consumer perceptions on food from animal clones in a realistic and workable way.’ The third proposed piece of legislation would modify the existing European Novel Food Regulation and aims to improve access for new and innovative food to the EU market, but with a continued high level of protection for consumers. Under the draft law, novel food (food which was not consumed in the EU to a significant extent before May 1997, and particularly food produced using new techniques and technologies) would be subject to a ‘simpler, clearer and more efficient authorisation procedure’. This would be centralised at EU level and, the EC says, should enable safe and innovative food to reach the EU market more quickly.
The EC says that protecting innovation is a key feature of the draft law and that, under the proposed system, in the case of innovation supported by new scientific developments, a food company submitting an application would be authorised to market the food for five years before it could be produced by others. In his statement, Commissioner Borg said that the changes on novel food would create a more efficient and cost-effective authorisations system, which would offer European consumers the benefit of a broad choice of foodstuffs and provide a favourable environment for Europe’s food industry to be innovative and competitive in a rapidly evolving and dynamic sector. The draft laws will now go forward for consideration by other EU institutions, including the European Parliament and European Council. Commissioner Borg said that he looked forward to ‘a smooth interinstitutional debate’, and that the new measures could come into force in 2016 at the earliest. doi: 10.1136/vr.g105
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on July 9, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
European Commission proposes a ban on cloning for farming purposes Veterinary Record 2014 174: 32
doi: 10.1136/vr.g105 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/174/2/32
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
