October 14, 2008

An EU study revealed that the majority of consumers would reject meat from cloned animals and their offspring.

A survey of 25,000 EU citizens by Eurobarometer reported that 61 percent think that animal cloning is morally wrong while 58 percent believe animal cloning could never be justified for food production purposes.

The survey said 84 percent of consumers think that the EU did not know enough about the long-term health and safety effects of using cloned animals for food. As a result, 63 percent of respondents said they were unlikely to ever buy meat or milk products derived from cloned animals, even if a trusted source said that the products were safe for consumption.

According to the survey, eight out of 10 EU citizens agree that special labelling should be required if food products from offspring of cloned animals ever become available in shops.

The survey also revealed that animal cloning is more acceptable in the UK, with 53 percent of interviewed UK citizens agreeing that consumers would benefit from animal cloning. Only 46 percent agreed that animal cloning is morally wrong, the lowest percentage of all 27 EU member states.

The findings of this survey will be used to help the European Commission to decide whether to approve animal cloning, as it provides valuable insights into the attitudes of EU citizens toward the use of animal cloning technology for food production, according to EU health commissioner Androulla Vassiliou.