USDA doesn't approve restrictions for GE-alfalfa

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has relented to industry criticism about its proposal for regulation of genetically engineered alfalfa. The USDA has decided that it will not restrict where genetically engineered alfafa can be grown. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack angered the biotech industry and farm groups last month when he announced that his department was considering restricting where the GE crop could be grown to ensure that it didn’t contaminate organic or other non-biotech crops, Philip Brasher of the Des Moines Register reports on the Green Fields blog. You can read our items about the controversy here, here and here.

Vilsack said on Thursday he still believed USDA had the authority to implement restrictions on the crop, but the agency "would be undertaking research and other measures to try to ensure that there would be adequate supplies of non-biotech seed after the genetically engineered alfalfa is in commercial use," Brasher writes. The research is focused on studying the spread of of the biotech gene and developing non-biotech varieties that are, among other things, protected against cross-pollination.

USDA's decision won't stop the legal battle holding up the crop's implementation. The advocacy group that successfully sued to halt the commercialization of the crop said it would challenge Vilsack's latest ruling. “There’s only one interpretation for all of this, which is massive pressure from the industry on the administration,” said Andrew Kimbrell of the Center for Food Safety. Vilsack countered that the measures to protect supplies of seed that isn’t genetically engineered "should reassure folks that there will be seed to preserve choice so that non-GE alfalfa can be grown by those who wish to do it." Vilsack said there is no question about the safety of the crop. (Read more)