Genetically Engineered crops to be Deregulated Even More-contact legisdlators

[Guest guest]

(http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/)

Could GE Crop Regulations Be Any Weaker?

Surprising as it may seem, the answer could be “yes!â€

 

In the waning months of the Bush Administration, the U.S. Department of

Agriculture (USDA) released a proposal to completely overhaul its regulation of

genetically engineered crops, significantly weakening its oversight. No

longer would USDA start from the assumption that a new GE crop must be

regulated; and some could be exempted altogether. The proposed rule would

virtually

ensure that contamination of organic and conventional crops will become even

more frequent, and even excuses the Agency from taking any action to remedy

such contamination. And, the rule would continue to allow the dangerous

practice of producing drugs and industrial chemicals in food crops grown in

the

open environment. In short, if implemented, the proposed rule would allow

the wholesale deregulation of the agricultural biotechnology industry.

 

Over four years ago, USDA promised stricter oversight of genetically

engineered crops; unfortunately, improvements considered early-on have vanished

and

the regulations have instead become weaker. The proposed rule now has even

more gaping holes than the regulations it is replacing, and creates a few

new ones as well, resulting in more public exposure to untested and unlabeled

genetically engineered foods. Instead of tightening controls to protect

the public and the environment from contamination and harm, what USDA has

offered further endangers the public’s right to choose the foods families eat

and farmers’ right to their chosen livelihoods.

 

To make matters worse, USDA published the rule before publishing the full

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), as required by law, and in the absence

of public review of the data needed to make regulatory recommendations.

Clearly, there is something wrong with this picture. We are calling on the

Obama Administration to reject the irresponsible Bush “anything goesâ€

biotech

policy. And we are requesting a moratorium on commercial planting of any new

GE crops until comprehensive regulations are in place.

 

The good news is that USDA has reopened the comment period on the proposed

rule and we are seizing this opportunity to ask the new Administration to

take a fresh look at how GE crops are regulated. We urge our supporters to

join us in demanding that the Agency release the EIS for public comment before

it proceeds with any further rule-making or GE crop approvals. Public

comments are being accepted through March 17, 2009.

 

Tell USDA to: (1) Withdraw the proposed rule; (2) Release the EIS for

public review and comment and to be used as a basis for further rule-making;

and

(3) Suspend all new GE crop approvals until the above has been satisfactorily

completed and unless and until GE crops are proven safe.

The USDA does not have to listen to your complaints.

Make a copy of the Letter using Select and Copy, and Email your Congressman

and Senators-each state has 2. Ask them to Contact the Chairman of the

Agriculture Committee to ask the USDA to stop this remnant of Bush Era

deregulation.

arnold

 

 

(http://ga3.org/campaign/APHIS2/3bixekn4oj5i6bi3?)

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):

Docket No. APHIS-2008-0023

Below is the sample letter:

Docket No. APHIS-2008-0023

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

Docket No. APHIS-2008-0023

Regulatory Analysis and Development

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8

4700 River Road Unit 118

Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.

 

Re: Docket No. APHIS-2008-0023, Importation, Interstate Movement, and

Release into the Environment of Certain Genetically Engineered Organisms.

 

I am very concerned about the risks posed by genetically engineered

crops--especially those crops engineered to withstand repeated applications of

herbicides and crops that produce drugs and industrial chemicals. They threaten

human health, family farmers, wildlife, and the environment. I urge USDA to

withdraw the proposed rule, publish the Environmental Impact Statement, and

suspend all new GE crop approvals in the interim.

 

After USDA releases the EIS, a comment period of at least 90 days is needed

so the public has the opportunity to fully participate in a transparent

process on this important issue. This will not only aid in the development of

t

he final EIS but also in the drafting of a new proposed rule. The current

proposed rule does little to close the loopholes in the regulations the rule is

designed to replace and it creates more gaps than it fills. For example:

As currently proposed, the rule allows biotech companies to self-assess the

safety of their own experimental GE crops to determine whether USDA should

even regulate them. The proposed criteria are open-ended, subjective, and

would substantially reduce USDA?s oversight of a wide range of GE crops. Most

egregiously, it is not genetic engineering that triggers regulation under the

rule, it is the determination that the technology " poses a potential plant

pest risk " and it is the developer that makes that initial decision. This is a

clear abdication of regulatory responsibility by USDA.

 

The proposed rule would also allow companies to grow some GE crops with no

oversight whatsoever. Under the proposed " tiered system, " USDA could

eliminate entire categories of GE crops or varieties with which they have

" familiarity, " despite the USDA?s acknowledgement that doing so would " increase

gene

flow between GE and non-GE crops. " This policy virtually ensures that

contaminatio n episodes will become more frequent. To add insult to injury,

USDA has

proposed to include a " Low Level Presence " policy in the law which excuses

it from taking any action to remove experimental GE crop material from

conventional or organic food, feed, and seed. Experience shows that such

contamination often causes severe economic harm to farmers, and could threaten

the

environment as well. Further, USDA's proposal of " Conditional Exclusion "

wrongly

enables developers to obtain exemptions from permit requirements without

publication, notice, or public comment. This unfairly limits transparency and

blocks the public from participation in important decisions that affect

public health, the environment, and the economy.

 

Despite repeated assurances that pharmaceutical and industrial GE crops

would be subjected to increased monitoring, reporting, oversight, and

management, USDA rejected scientifically-sound options that would have banned

outdoor

cultivation of GE phar maceutical- and chemical-producing food crops. This is

the only way to ensure that untested drugs and industrial chemicals don't

end up in our food. It also ignores the strong support such protective action

enjoys from citizens and the food industry. USDA has also refused to propose

any controls on pesticide-promoting GE crops, despite documented increases

in pesticide use caused by herbicide-tolerant crops and an epidemic of

resistant weeds that have been fostered by these crops.

 

Finally, the rule includes language that bars state or local regulation of

GE crops that are more protective than its own weak rule. I strongly oppose

such preemptive language that would bar local or state authorities from

putting meaningful regulations or restrictions on GE crops in place that best

suit

their communities.

 

In sum, I urge you to: (1) Withdraw the proposed rule; (2) Release the EIS

for public review and comment, and to be used as a basis for further

rule-making; and (3 ) Suspend all new GE crop approvals until the above has

been

satisfactorily completed and unless and until GE crops are proven safe.

Sincerely,

 

Arnold Gore

 

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What's At Stake:

To read our substantive, organizational comments from the previous comment

period _CLICK HERE_

(http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/pubs/APHIS%20EIS%20Proposed%20Rule%20-%20CFS\

%2011-24-08.pdf)

The full text of the USDA APHIS proposed rule, Docket No. APHIS-2008-0023,

can be found _HERE_

(http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail & d=APHIS-\

2008-0023)

 

Campaign Expiration Date:

March 17, 2009

 

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