====== FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ======

America First Party
1630 A 30th Street #111
Boulder, Colorado 80301
http://www.AmericaFirstParty.org

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

FDA Cloning Proposal Risks Public Health, Biologic Integrity of Species

Boulder, CO - The America First Party is appalled at the FDA's recent draft assessments recommending that human consumption of cloned animal products be permitted, and that no special labeling is likely to be required for such food products. This seems to benefit cloning companies, and a few narrow agricultural interests, while risking the public health. If the FDA goes forward in its decision, the increase in the practice of cloning could also jeopardize the biological integrity of species of livestock.

The FDA draft admits that "some animals involved in the cloning process ... are at increased risk of adverse health outcomes relative to conventional animals." This demonstrates that cloned animals are biologically inferior to normally reproduced livestock.

The draft also states, "It may be, as many have suggested, that no clone is completely 'normal' with respect to its epigenetic profile. Although this is an important point for assessing the overall safety of the cloning process for any particular species, the relevance of 'epigenetic normality' to food consumption risks is unclear." What is obvious from the FDA's own words is that the science of cloning is too undeveloped at this point to eliminate all doubt about the risk to food safety, or the risk of genetic damage to species.

National Chairman Jon Hill stated, "It is our duty to respect the image of creation that the Creator has given to nature, and to not unnecessarily deform this image in order to merely provide economic opportunities to people involved in the field of genetics. To propose risking damage to God's intricate and awesome creation to maximize profits is disgraceful."

Press Secretary JC Schweingrouber stated, "Because of the cost of cloning, $15,000 a clone, most cloning of animals will be for the purpose of replicating prized breeding stock. This is all about maximizing profit, and has nothing to do with necessity. U.S. agriculture is renowned for its productivity and success -- we don't need the FDA and incomplete science to fix what isn't broken."

In accord with the goal of putting America First before all special interests, the platform of the America First Party calls for a ban on all animal and human cloning.

Contacts:
Jonathan Hill, National Chairman, 1-866-SOS-USA1, ext. 4
John Schweingrouber, Press Secretary, 1-866-SOS-USA1, ext. 2

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