VZCZCXRO3975
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHWR #1141/01 2731425
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 291425Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7082
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
INFO RUEHKW/AMCONSUL KRAKOW 2167
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 001141 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS ELECTRONICALLY TO USTR JMURPHY, MCLARKSON 
STATE FOR EUR/CE 
STATE FOR EEB/TPP/ABT/BTT FINN 
USDA FOR FAS/OSTA MHENNEY, MCHESLEY; PSCHMEISSNER; FAS/OFSO DYOUNG 
USDA FOR FAS/OCRA/DSALMON, DSEIDBAND 
BRUSSELS PASS AG MINISTER COUNSELOR; 
EUROPEAN POSTS FOR AGR/ECON 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ECON ETRD TBIO PGOV PL
SUBJECT:   Animal Cloning Attitudes in Poland 
 
REF:  Warsaw 1114 
 
WARSAW 00001141  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.   (SBU) Summary.  This cable reports a round table discussion 
Sept. 19 in Warsaw on the subject of scientists' views on animal 
cloning and the food supply.  January's announcement of deregulation 
for clones by FDA has sparked controversy, with a vote by the 
European Parliament against the technique and the use of progeny in 
the food supply.  Polish scientists want more information about the 
United States' actions on cloning, and express support for cloning 
safety, but are exasperated by the unscientific approach taken by 
the politicians with oversight responsibility for food safety 
issues.  U.S. policymakers should be wary about potential trade 
disruption for dairy and products if the United States allowed 
significant amounts of products from clones and their progeny into 
the food supply.  Traceability is needed to keep those products from 
being shipped to markets like the EU and Poland.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) American Holstein Association (AHA) Vice President for 
International Marketing, Dr. Gerardo Quaassdorff, met with Polish 
scientists and veterinary health officials to discuss AHA's position 
on cloning and what it may mean eventually to Europe.  Quaassdorff 
distributed AHA's guidelines for registering clones.  Quaassdorff 
explained the International Holstein-Friesian Association (IHFA) 
would take up the issue of animal clones and likely will adopt the 
position of the AHA for a clone registration at its upcoming 
meetings in Ireland.  Quaassdorff said that there are 150 cloned 
dairy animals in the United States.  Quaassdorff said cloning 
already follows international (IHFA) embryo transfer protocols.  He 
said AHA members were not as interested in clones as they are in 
genetically engineered animals (GE); members are focused on 
improving genetics not preserving them.  He said his industry wants 
to know where clones are so they will be tracked.   He said the 
industry was really only interested in cloning animals for show and 
then using the technique in the development of GE animals.  He said 
cloning would be used as a niche, in a very limited way and to 
maintain a breed. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Attending the meeting were Professors Edmund Dymnicki, 
Chief of the Institute of Animal Genetics and Breeding of the Polish 
Academy of Science, in  Jastrzebiec, near Warsaw; vice director of 
research from the same institute, Professor Lech Zwierzchowski; 
Poland's deputy chief veterinary officer, Dr. Krzystof Jazdzewski; 
and Professor Ewa Bartnik, Warsaw University, Department of Genetics 
and Biotechnology.  These scientists serve in the Polish Academy of 
Science, are advisors to the Ministries of Agriculture and 
Environment, and are unequivocal supporters of the application of 
sound science in food and environmental safety.  Each admires the 
United States with its cutting-edge innovations in agricultural 
science and frequently comments to the media. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Scientists expressed relief at AHA's statement that there 
were no large scale, immediate plans for cloning.  They thought the 
EU regulatory regime was behind and needed now to focus on 
rulemaking.  Scientists reported there are no cloned dairy cattle in 
Poland.  Their laboratories do clone pets; the Balice Institute for 
Animal Breeding near Krakow has developed a non-allergenic cat. 
They said Europeans already mistrust cloned plants and that public 
acceptance of cloned animals will be lower.  On cloned and GE 
animals as bioreactors to create new medicines, they see a clear 
pathway to regulatory use.  They said that they agreed with FDA and 
EFSA rulings on clones as safe.  Anyone with an understanding of 
basic biochemistry understands cloning is safe, one stated. 
 
¶5. (SBU) They expressed support for the idea of cloning techniques 
in species' preservation.  Polish scientists use cloning to preserve 
the European Bison (Bison bonasus) and in Italy the wild mountain 
goat Muflon (Ovis musimon).  They cautioned cloning was not a slam 
dunk for preservationists since the problem with endangered animal 
populations was a lack of genetic variability.  Cloning provides a 
tool to catalog and study methods that might lead to preservation 
solutions by GE or cross breeding to maintain populations with 
desperate measures, they said.  Poland has plans to preserve some 
cattle such as its historic Polish red.  There are 400 Polish reds, 
none purebred, but a large enough population that cloning and GE may 
be useful, even to eliminate the crossbreeding with Danish reds that 
occurred 120 years ago. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Scientists expressed fatigue with the process of food 
policy development in Europe.  They complained about the religiosity 
they face from pressure groups and politicians against new 
scientific applications.  They expressed concern the United States 
 
WARSAW 00001141  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
misunderstands policymaking in Europe and focuses on regulatory 
rulemaking and is not pragmatic with an EU food safety system 
dominated by public opinion polling.  Scientists thought their 
political leaders would not admit clones or progeny to the food 
supply of Europe.  They reacted positively to the ideas of AHA, that 
cloning will be limited.  They said that the announcements coming 
from FDA and USDA indicate to Europeans that the US is moving ahead 
quickly.  They are uncomfortable with the speed the issue is hitting 
Europe without preparation of the public or political mind, 
recalling the 1995 introduction of GM crops or the inadvertent 
release of unapproved biotechnology events in 2001.  They thought 
for markets negative on new agricultural science it was important to 
make strong regulations in Brussels so that nations such as Poland 
might face EU disciplines on its approach to clones. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The greatest threat to scientific progress in cloning 
today, they said, is whether clones will be regulated as genetically 
modified organisms.  The proposed draft Polish law on the 
cultivation of plant GMO's (reftel) and the criteria for scientific 
study indicates to some scientists that the Ministry of Environment 
will regulate clones as GMO's.  Scientists believed this regulatory 
approach may prevent them from using cloning techniques and they 
were being vocal to their superiors that this approach was 
scientifically unjustified.  The Environment Ministry regularly 
rejects requests for scientific studies, overruling scientist's 
recommendations.  No one wanted the Ministry of Environment involved 
in the issue of clones and all were overwhelmingly negative about 
the Environment Ministry and its political approach to science. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Dr. Quaassdorff visited September 17-19 with officials and 
association representatives in Warsaw to discuss mutual recognition 
of herd registers.  Poland is an important, fast growing market for 
U.S. dairy genetics.  AHA and USDA/FAS Warsaw are creating a 
strategy to overcome the additional barriers third-country livestock 
genetics imports face with Poland's breeding registry law.  Dr. 
Quaassdorff's points on his industry's approach to cloning shows the 
benefits for stakeholders in the United States to be engaged with 
European scientists and that many scientists share U.S. views. 
Scientists left the meeting more comfortable with the U.S. approach 
to cloning and with the issue of cloning in its proper, perspective 
as a niche. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Europe and Poland import processed U.S. dairy products, and 
here there is some need for attention.  Deputy Chief Veterinary 
Officer Jazdzewski said that the prospect of cloning and progeny in 
the food supply was being faced for the first time.   Jazdzewski 
said that the issue has been ignored, but was heating up. 
Agricultural Counselor asked whether U.S. non-fat dry milk and whey 
powder shipments to Poland and Europe that included products from 
clones and their progeny would face a shutdown if it was suspected 
that clones' products were in export channels.  Jazdzewski replied 
U.S. industries with EU market access for animal products should 
adopt traceability requirements on clones and communicate actively 
about whether clones and their progeny will be in U.S. foods until 
such time as they have clearance from Europe. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Comment.  Industry outreach might be effective if it used 
well spoken producers and/or wildlife preservationists and targeted 
the need for clones in GE animals for new medicines, genetic 
preservation, development of human transplantation, and for 
pets/show animals.  Working on clones and GE animals at present 
distracts from larger issues like agricultural biotechnology and the 
asynchronous approval problem for U.S. soybeans.  End Comment. 
ASHE