In addition, the House has passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act with language that strongly encourages the FDA to maintain the voluntary moratorium on cloned foods and directs the agency to complete a study with the USDA investigating the economic and trade implications of introducing cloned animals into the food supply.  The Senate is expected to pass the Act later this week.

"There is broad bipartisan support for this cloning legislation," said Tracie Letterman, Executive Director of the American Anti-Vivisection Society.  "Congress is clearly telling the FDA to wait on animal cloning because more information is needed about human health, animal welfare, and economic impacts.  The FDA should respect that."

Opposition to the FDA's plans has also united an unlikely set of allies.  Consumer and animal advocacy organizations, environmental groups, and the dairy industry have all urged the FDA to wait for further study before allowing food from cloned animals.

"It is much too soon for this controversial technology to be unleashed in the marketplace, especially without requiring it to be labeled," said Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Watch.  "When it comes to cloned food, the FDA should listen to the public instead of the biotech industry."

Opinion polls show that the vast majority of Americans do not want food from clones and are opposed to cloning for health, food safety, moral, and ethical reasons.  The FDA received over 150,000 comments expressing outrage over its plans to allow animal cloning for food products.

"Animal protection advocates support scientific advancement, but cloning lacks any legitimate social value and decreases animal welfare in a dramatic way," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. "Congress has signaled that FDA needs to slow down the application of this bad idea, and we hope the agency will terminate the plan entirely."

Much of the concern stems from the fact that over 95 percent of cloning attempts fail, resulting in diseased and deformed animals, and the long-term health effects of consuming the "successful" clones are unknown.  Many leading U.S. producers have already rejected using cloned animals.

"With the public increasingly concerned about the treatment of farm animals," said Julie Janovsky, Campaign Director for Farm Sanctuary, "the cloning legislation acknowledges the fact that cloning may lead to even harsher conditions for animals used to produce food."