Consumers Union (CU), publisher of Consumer Reports , welcomes the opportunity to testify before this committee on House Bill 1499 which would require labeling of any product of a cloned animal or its offspring.

For the reasons offered below, particularly because of consumer right-to-know and due to inadequate safety testing by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Consumers Union strongly support HB 1499. We also urge the committee to require labeling for at least two generations of clone progeny, i.e. both the “children” and “grandchildren” of clones should be labeled.

Cloning technology, aka somatic cell nuclear transplant (SCNT), is very new and is a very controversial technology. We believe that no new technology should be allowed for use in livestock unless it is proven safe for both animals and humans. In addition, when animals are created in such a radically new manner, they should be labeled.

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