Although 80% of consumers want to know whether cloned animals are ending up on their plates, the EU institutions failed to agree on a new law on novel foods.

No deal on cloned food

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/15517105/N001-110329-003-EN.srt

Does the steak you buy from your butcher  come from a cloned animal?

MEPs were calling for true traceability.

Three years of talks  with Member States ended in failure.

All the studies show  that over 80% of consumers

don't want food from cloned animals  or their offspring on their plates,

and the ministers were unable to respond  positively to this legitimate expectation.

At the heart of the problem are imports of  cloned meat from the US and Argentina.

There, cloning for commercial purposes  is permitted, but it’s impossible to detect.

The extremists, those who want that  anything can circulate in Europe,

anyhow, without any traceability,  without any labelling,

have won, and that’s  a very big disappointment.

But clearer labelling for the consumers  means more checks,

many additional costs and risks for  the business, and this deterred the states.

90% of cloned animals die  before they are born.

Accepting these practices means  accepting the mistreatment of animals.

The EP still hopes for a deal,  but it won't happen tomorrow.

The Commission says two years.  That’s too long for us.

We think that within a year  there must be at least a proposal.

Each year the EU imports 300 000  to 500 000 tonnes of cloned meat.