Big win for the anti-cloning organic camp Thursday.
The National Organic Standards Board, which previously had a draft recommendation to ban clones in organic livestock but which left the issue of their progeny unresolved, did what many consumer groups and farmers wanted: they banned the progeny too. (See our previous post for background on the issue and also organic dairy farmers' response).
The livestock committee of the NOSB - the citizens advisory panel to the USDA on organic regulations - apparently kept their pencils sharpened Wednesday night to get the language right and passed the recommendation at their meeting in Washington Thursday. So not only will clones be banned from organic systems, but also any of their offspring - which is the main way that they will enter the food supply.
The vote was 12-0 with one abstention.
Just shows what a little activism will do.