Res. No. 1121
Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign A. 1838, legislation requiring all food products made from cloned animals or the progeny of cloned animals to be labeled accordingly.
By Council Members Brewer, Cabrera, Eugene, Ferreras, Gentile, Lander, Mendez, Palma, Rose, Williams, James and Ulrich
Whereas, Cloning is a scientific process that allows individuals to copy the genetic traits of a plant or animal and create one or more living replicas; and
Whereas, In order to clone an animal, the nucleus of an unfertilized egg in the host animal is destroyed and replaced with a nucleus from a cell of the body of another animal; and
Whereas, Cloning produces animals that are more likely to become sick than animals that are reproduced naturally, which requires the increased use of antibiotics and other medical interventions; and
Whereas, Global Resource Action Center for the Environment, an organization that educates and advocates for the benefits of community-based food production, alleges that cloning is detrimental to animals, as it puts sick and deformed clones as well as their surrogate parents through unneeded suffering; and
Whereas, In 2008, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked that livestock and dairy producers uphold a 2003 voluntary ban on the use of cloned animals in any phase of food production; and
Whereas, However, no such ban is in place that would prohibit the offspring of cloned animals, or foods containing meat or dairy from cloned animals or their offspring, from being included in food production; and
Whereas, Sustainable Table, an organization that educates consumers about food-related issues, asserts that there has been no government-mandated, independent, peer-reviewed scientific testing of genetically-engineered foods; and
Whereas, This organization further states that the public has been serving as an unwitting laboratory for experimental food technology; and
Whereas, Recently, the Center for Food Safety (TCFS) filed a petition on behalf of the Just Label It campaign, a coalition of more than 350 companies, organizations, scientists, doctors and individuals dedicated to food safety and consumer rights, against the FDA for failing to promulgate mandatory labeling disclosures for genetically-engineered foods; and
Whereas, TCFS indicates that the FDA's failure to require labeling of genetically-engineered foods is an abdication of its statutory mandate to require labeling of foods that are "misbranded"; and
Whereas, The petitioners requested that the FDA require foods that are comprised of genetically-engineered organisms or contain ingredients derived from genetically-engineered organisms be labeled as such; and
Whereas, Absent federal labeling requirements, states should be able to take necessary precautions to protect consumers; and
Whereas, In New York State, Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal introduced A.1838, legislation that would ensure consumers are able to make informed decisions about the food they consume and increase confidence in consumer purchasing; and
Whereas, This proposed law would further require that every livestock producer who sells or transfers any cloned animal or its progeny shall disclose to the buyer or transferee that the animal is cloned or is the progeny of a cloned animal; and
Whereas, Supporters believe that mandating the labeling of foods made from cloned animals would significantly reduce the animal cruelty and suffering that accompanies cloning; and
Whereas, A.1838 would significantly lead to reduced consumption of deformed and sick animals, thereby guarding the health and safety of consumers; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign A.1838, legislation requiring all food products made from cloned animals or the progeny of cloned animals to be labeled accordingly.
LS # 2917
IH/JM
11/9/11