President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday directing federal agencies to streamline rules for approving genetically engineered crops and livestock. "The order also noted the government’s policies should urge trading partners to adopt similar regulatory approaches. Even if the U.S. loosens regulations on genetically engineered foods . . . companies could be hampered by regulations overseas," Candice Choi reports for The Associated Press.
The order's impact will depend on how the Agriculture Department, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency carry it out, since simple deregulation could cause consumers to be more skeptical of GMOs, argues Greg Jaffe, biotechnology director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The order may have a bigger impact on livestock than crops, since genetically engineered animals tend to face more regulatory hurdles, Choi reports.
Federal agencies try to make policies keep up with new technologies, but the GMO-approval process is complicated because "how genetically engineered plants and animals are currently regulated in the U.S. varies depending on the exact methods used to produce them," Choi reports.
Last week USDA proposed changing rules to exempt most GMOs from special oversight if produced through gene editing. That's a form of genetic modification that only produces traits that could have been achieved through traditional breeding techniques, albeit much more quickly and accurately, Choi reports. Most of the GMO corn and soy grown in the U.S. is produced through gene editing.
The order's impact will depend on how the Agriculture Department, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency carry it out, since simple deregulation could cause consumers to be more skeptical of GMOs, argues Greg Jaffe, biotechnology director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The order may have a bigger impact on livestock than crops, since genetically engineered animals tend to face more regulatory hurdles, Choi reports.
Federal agencies try to make policies keep up with new technologies, but the GMO-approval process is complicated because "how genetically engineered plants and animals are currently regulated in the U.S. varies depending on the exact methods used to produce them," Choi reports.
Last week USDA proposed changing rules to exempt most GMOs from special oversight if produced through gene editing. That's a form of genetic modification that only produces traits that could have been achieved through traditional breeding techniques, albeit much more quickly and accurately, Choi reports. Most of the GMO corn and soy grown in the U.S. is produced through gene editing.
"But Jaydee Hanson of the Center for Food Safety said gene editing could also be used to make more significant changes, including those that would never happen in nature, and said oversight is necessary," Choi reports.
No comments:
Post a Comment