What a Shame – The UK MEPs Who Failed on Clone Ban

By Eve Mitchell

It’s hard to shock me anymore, and I knew that the UK was causing problems over a ban on cloning for food, but even I was surprised at how bad it is. It is more important than ever for us to keep up our pressure to make the UK change course.

On 8 September the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly, again, for a full ban on cloning for food (529 in favour of a ban, 120 against). This is superb news and a testament to the hard work over many years of the MEPs fighting in our corner.

Sadly that’s not the end of the story, because the EU’s complex rules mean government ministers from Member States have a role in this via the Council. If it were up to the Parliament, cloning would have been banned a long time ago. The problem is the Council is dragging its feet (and the Commission is letting it happen).

The UK is a leading voice against a ban, and it’s causing problems. Of the 120 MEPs who voted against a ban, 33 of them (28 percent) were UK MEPs. I’ve pulled together a handy chart below so you can see who they are.

Another four UK MEPs abstained and another 10 didn’t vote at all. So of the 73 people the UK sends to the Parliament to represent our views, over half didn’t in the cloning vote, and 45 percent actively opposed a ban.
The UK is also a leading voice against a ban in the Council. We need to do something about this.

If you’re in the UK please tell UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Elizabeth Truss now that when clones are discussed in the Council, she must represent our wishes and the wishes of the Parliament by supporting a full, clear ban on cloning for food.

No matter where you are in Europe, you can send a message to your farming and environment ministers asking them to support a ban in the Council. The UK needs work, but other countries are following them and need our attention, too.

UK MEPs VOTING AGAINST A BAN ON CLONING