The European Parliament requested today a ban on animal cloning for agricultural purposes in the European Union.
At the session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the deputies approved by a large majority the text prohibiting the breeding of cloned animals, as well as products from these animals.
In Europe, these types of cloning are not done, but the import of products obtained from cloned animals, including embryos, is allowed.
In the debate, the French ecologist José Beauvais pointed out that one should not blindly use all the available techniques. "With clones, we are inventing transgenic animals whose sole purpose is to become patents for biotech companies," says Bove.
The meat of the clones is very expensive and not eaten, but their embryos and seeds are commercialized and their offspring are bred, especially in the USA, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, without a system to track those animals.
On this topic, the negotiations of the EU members, which are divided on the issue of animal cloning, will be led by the Parliament and the Commission.
The plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg lasts until September 10.
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