Cloneburgers Won't Come With Warnings

Cloneburgers won't come with warnings. When the government approves food from cloned animals, expected in the next year, the Food and Drug Administration doesn't plan special labels. Government scientists have found no difference between clones and conventional cows, pigs or goats.

However, shoppers won't be completely in the dark. To help them sort through meat and dairy products, one signal is the round, green USDA organic seal, says Caren Wilcox, who heads the Organic Trade Association.

While many people choose organic to avoid pesticides or antibiotics, Wilcox

says the U.S. Department of Agriculture label also means clone-free.

"Organic animal products will not come from cloned animals," she said.

Cloning is taboo to Organic Valley, the country's biggest organic farming cooperative.

"This is absolutely prohibited in our world. It goes against everything we believe," said George Siemon, CEO of the 700-member cooperative. "Organic is based on having plenty with what nature's given us."

"Clone-free" labels are also likely on some nonorganic food, such as ice cream made by Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc.

Still, it's unclear how much cloning will matter to consumers.

The nation's milk industry worries that people might reject food from clones or turn away from dairy products altogether. But so far, public opinion appears mixed. In a September poll by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, 64 percent said they were uncomfortable with animal cloning.

In a December poll by the University of Maryland, the same percentage said they would buy, or consider buying, such food if the government said it was safe.

"The answers weren't yuck versus yes, not for the consumers that are provided information," said Barb Glenn, director of animal biotechnology for the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

People who can afford it will pay more for organic products, which are grown without toxic pesticides and fertilizers, antibiotics or synthetic growth hormones. Organic food is also grown without genetic engineering.

Organic is a rapidly growing segment of the nation's food market. Organic sales have grown by up to 20 percent annually; overall growth in food sales is around 3 percent.

Some in Congress want to require labels on food from clones. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., has introduced legislation to require this note on packages: "This product is from a cloned animal or its progeny."