Public Concerns with Animal Cloning : End Animal Cloning

The results of opinion polls conducted over the past several years show that the majority of Americans consistently oppose animal cloning and that food safety is not their only concern.

66% disapprove of cloning animals for food. (AAVS, 2006)^[1]

88% disapprove of cloning animals for food when they learn that cloning involves animal suffering. (AAVS, 2006)

Numerous other surveys found similar results:

66% are uncomfortable with animal cloning. (Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, 2005)^[2]

56% have an unfavorable impression of animal cloning in general. (International Food Information Council, 2006)

71% say it is not acceptable to use cloning to reproduce livestock. (Fox News, 2002)^[3]

66% say it's morally wrong to clone animals. (Gallup, 2002)^[4]

67% say it's a bad idea to clone animals such as sheep. (Time/CNN, 2001)^[5]

59% say it should be illegal to clone animals. (ABC News, 2001)^[6]

79% are unsure about the safety of food from cloned animals. (Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, 2006)^[7]

63% would not buy cloned food even if it were labeled as "safe."^[8]

87% think the government needs to ensure that the ethical issues related to animal cloning are publicly discussed before allowing cloned animals to be sold as food. (AAVS, 2006)

References

[1] AAVS (2006). Animal Cloning Survey. Prepared by Opinion Research Corporation.

[2] Public Sentiment About Genetically Modified Food, 2005 Update (2005).
Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology Survey Results.

[3] http://www.pollingreport.com/science (Last accessed May 2007).

[4] Tucker-Foreman, C. (2002). Public interest perspective on animal cloning. In: Animal cloning and the production of food products: Perspectives from the food chain. Proceedings from a workshop sponsored by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology and the Center for Veterinary Medicine of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

[5] Time/CNN Poll - Cloning (2001). (Last accessed May 2007).

[6] http://www.pollingreport.com/science (Last accessed May 2007).

[7] Public Sentiment About Genetically Modified Food, 2006 Update (2006).
Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology Survey Results.

[8] Dairy industry support continued FDA ban on selling cloned-cow milk
(2005, July 15). Washington Times. (Last accessed May 2007).