On June 6, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed to overhaul longstanding regulations governing genetically modified organisms (GMO).
The proposed new rule would revise the agency's current method for regulating genetically modified plants, and would exclude newer so-called "gene-edited" GMOs.
In a statement, the USDA said the new rule came "in response to advances in genetic engineering."
A week later, in the political equivalent of a one-two-punch, President Trump bolstered the USDA's proposal by signing an executive order directing the USDA, as well as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to "streamline" GMO regulations in the U.S. for agricultural biotechnology, including for genetically modified livestock and seeds.
The full import of these two moves, and specifically the threat that they represent to consumer freedom, is only just starting to sink in — and the need for consumer action has become urgent.
According to the USDA, it' proposed new rule — the "Movement of Certain Genetically Engineered Organisms" — aims to make the process of approving GMOs Sustainable, Ecological, Consistent, Uniform, Responsible, Efficient, which is why it has been given the nickname the SECURE Rule.
If adopted the new rule would mark the first significant revision of USDA's biotechnology regulations since they were established in 1987.
In reality, SECURE is akin to driving a steamroller through the regulatory system. If approved, most consumers will be left without a clue as to whether or not their foods have been genetically engineered...read more>>>...