By Bobby Frederick, Director of Legislative Affairs and Public Policy BASF informed the NGFA this week that the company will launch a hybrid canola variety (MS8 x RF3 x MON 88302) under the commercial name “InVigor Choice LR344PC.” BASF’s stacked trait combines previously commercialized MS8xRF3, which confers glufosinate tolerance, and MON88302, which confers glyphosate tolerance. The initial launch is scheduled to occur in Canada only. Of particular importance to NGFA members, InVigor Choice LR344PC has received import approvals in a number of countries including the United States, ... Read More
Biotechnology
First commercial harvest of Enlist E3™ soybeans underway
[Editor’s Note: This article is a summary of information provided to NGFA by Matt Rekeweg, U.S. industry relations and food chain leader, Corteva Agriscience, Indianapolis, Ind.] U.S. soybean growers this fall are harvesting and delivering their first commercial planting of Enlist E3™ soybeans. Enlist E3 soybeans are part of the Enlist™ weed control system, which also includes corn and cotton. Enlist E3 soybeans are tolerant to three herbicides: 2,4-D choline in Enlist herbicides (the only 2,4-D herbicides authorized for use with Enlist crops), glyphosate and glufosinate. Enlist E3 ... Read More
NGFA, other agribusiness groups say USDA’s new proposed rules for regulating biotech products ‘fundamentally flawed’
ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 7, 2019 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) new proposed rule for regulating plant-based agricultural biotechnology products, as drafted, is “fundamentally flawed” and could contribute to future trade disruptions, the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) and several other grain- and oilseed-based agribusiness associations said in a joint statement submitted on Aug. 6. “Our industry, and our farmer-customers emphatically need to avoid the costly trade disruptions that have been associated periodically with transgenic biotechnology,” wrote the NGFA, ... Read More
BIO’s World Congress focuses on technology, transparency, trust-building with consumers
By Bobby Frederick, Director of Legislative Affairs and Public Policy Nearly 1,000 attendees packed the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines on July 8-11 to hear company presentations and listen to TED-style talks from scientists, academics, growers, livestock producers, grain handlers, and government officials, during the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s (BIO) World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology. Enthusiasm surrounding gene editing was a major focus of the conference, but so were the concepts of transparency and building trust with consumers, which are ... Read More
Trump issues executive order to streamline biotech regulation
By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media President Donald Trump directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to streamline their regulation of agricultural biotechnology in an executive order issued June 11. “The United States must employ a science-based regulatory system that evaluates products based on human health and safety and potential benefits and risks to the environment,” the executive order stated. “Such a system must both foster public confidence in ... Read More
USDA publishes new proposed rules for regulating biotech products
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today (June 6) published a new proposed rule for the regulation of plant-based agricultural biotechnology products. Under the proposed rule, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) – which has authority to determine whether agricultural biotech traits pose a plant pest or noxious weed risk to the environment – would exempt most crops developed with gene-editing techniques from regulation. APHIS said these plants can be produced through traditional breeding techniques, making them unlikely to pose a greater plant pest risk ... Read More
European industry groups urge changes to European biotech law
By Randy Gordon, President and CEO A diverse collection of 21 European agricultural, food, chemical, health care and machinery organizations on April 23 distributed an “open letter” to European Union (EU) member states urging that they initiate targeted changes to Europe’s biotech law to allow for the adoption of more “practical and science-based rules” to govern new plant breeding methods, such as gene-editing. The letter was spurred by the European Court of Justice’s decision in July 2018 that interpreted the provisions of EU GMO Directive 2001/18 as requiring that products derived ... Read More
China issues five new import approvals and 26 import renewals for genetically modified crops
By Bobby Frederick, Director of Legislative Affairs and Public Policy For the first time since mid-2017, China this week announced import approvals for genetically modified crops. The Chinese government announced the approvals on Jan. 8 during a round of trade talks in Beijing between Chinese officials and a U.S. delegation that included USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) of the People’s Republic of China approved the following genetically modified crops for import: Corn (1): ... Read More
USDA issues final rule implementing Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard
By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media; and Randy Gordon, President The U.S. Department Agriculture (USDA) on Dec. 20 issued its final rule for the National Bioengineered Disclosure Standard, adopting several of NGFA’s recommendations submitted in response to the agency’s proposed rule for implementing the congressionally required mandatory labeling of bioengineered food. The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Law, passed by Congress in July 2016, directed USDA to establish a national mandatory standard for food manufacturers, importers and certain retailers ... Read More
NGFA commends USDA’s issuance of Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard
ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 20, 2018 -- The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) today commended the U.S. Department Agriculture’s (USDA) issuance of the final rule for the National Bioengineered Disclosure Standard. As a member of the Steering Committee of the Safe Affordable Food Coalition, the NGFA said the rule, which USDA published on Dec. 20, provides consumers access to more information about the bioengineered content of the food they purchase, while providing for national uniformity in bioengineered food labeling that is essential to providing consumers with continued access to a ... Read More
National Grain and Feed Association
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