Ben & Jerry’s is serious about the need for a system to track cloned animals, according to the company’s Chief Euphoria Officer, Walt Freese.
“Americans should have the basic right to choose the foods they want to eat,” he says.
In January 2008, the U.S Food and Drug Administration declared milk and meat from cloned animals safe for human consumption, enabling cloned food products to enter the U.S. food supply.
However, many Americans are not aware of this fact and are uncomfortable with the idea of eating cloned food products. In fact, a 2008 national poll conducted by the Food Marketing Institute revealed that more than three-quarters of Americans are not comfortable with eating foods from cloned animals.
“Ben & Jerry’s believes that we need a national clone tracking system so companies and consumers can avoid eating cloned foods if they so choose,” Freese says.
Ben & Jerry’s is trying to raise public awareness, defend consumer choice, and work toward better policies on cloned animals.
Ben & Jerry’s has been an outspoken advocate for cautious national policies on cloned animals for years, including a march of activists dressed as cloned cows on Capitol Hill in March of 2007.