Biotechnology

By Randy Gordon, President Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on March 28 issued a statement “clarifying” the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s policy regarding regulatory oversight of plants produced using innovative plant breeding techniques, such as gene editing. Consistent with previous USDA policy, Perdue said the department “does not regulate or have plans to regulate plants that could otherwise have been developed through traditional breeding techniques as long as they are not plant pests or developed using plant pests.”  Perdue added that, “with this approach, USDA seeks to ... Read More

Several European Union governments on Monday voted against the cultivation of three genetically modified maize strains developed by Syngenta, Monsanto and Pioneer. Sixteen countries voted against authorizing two GM strains manufactured by Syngenta and Dow, while 14 voted against the Monsanto trait. Despite the number of countries voting against the GM crops, the bloc failed to reach a “qualified majority” of votes that would force the European Commission to dismiss its authorization in Europe, meaning the commission must make the final decision. (A qualified majority is achieved when at ... Read More

By Randy Gordon, President A new study finds that the profusion and diversity of new biotechnology products expected to be introduced during the next five to 10 years could “overwhelm” the U.S. regulatory system. The 177-page report, issued March 9 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NAS), found that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies involved in regulating biotechnology products should increase their scientific capabilities, tools and expertise in key areas of expected ... Read More

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) extended the comment period for its proposed rule that would revise regulations regarding the importation, interstate movement, and environmental release of certain genetically engineered organisms. In January, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released several proposals regarding the U.S. government’s pre-market regulatory oversight of genetically engineered plants. In response, the NGFA issued a statement emphasizing the importance of working to achieve consistent regulatory policies ... Read More

NGFA’s Director of Legislative Affairs and Public Policy Bobby Frederick represented the grain and feed industry in a panel on Dec. 8 to discuss the new eight-page literature survey report issued by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) on the impact of asynchronous approvals of biotech crops on ag sustainability, trade and innovation. USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service contracted the literature review, which very effectively demonstrates the negative impacts across the value chain caused by asynchrony between various countries’ regulatory systems, Frederick noted. ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media; and Max Fisher, Director of Economics and Government Affairs The U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) talks that took place Thanksgiving week failed to make progress in promoting a more synchronous approach to crop biotech regulatory approvals, or to address the backlog in biotech traits awaiting approval by Chinese regulatory authorities. In a statement on Friday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said he was disappointed that further progress was not made on agricultural biotechnology issues during the ... Read More