Taken from http://www.gefreemaine.org/staticpages/index.php?page=20060626145840467

Brian Tokar , 26.06.2006 18:36

There is presently a struggle in the US and Europe regarding the appropriateness of local ordinances or regional efforts to control the spread of genetically manipulated crops. Opponents in the US argue that GM technology is sufficiently well regulated by the federal government. This report outlines the extensive evidence that federal oversight is far from adequate to protect farmers and the general public from the potential consequences of GM technology.

PDF version of briefing on US regulations. 61K http://biotech.indymedia.org/media/2006/06//5165.pdf

This 7-page briefing seeks to address several key questions:

Ӣ Does the US government regulate genetically engineered crops?

Ӣ How does the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) oversight of GE crops in the field actually work?

Ӣ Is USDA oversight of GE crops adequate?

Ӣ How well do the Environmental Protection Agency and Food & Drug Administration address environmental and food safety concerns?

We conclude that state and local jurisdictions should retain the power to address specific problems with GE crops that are not sufficiently addressed by federal regulators.

The full, footnoted text of this new briefing report, titled "Deficiencies in Federal Regulatory Oversight of Genetically Engineered Crops," is available at http://www.gefreemaine.org/staticpages/index.php?page=20060626145840467. The pdf version can also be downloaded from http://www.environmentalcommons.org/RegulatoryDeficiencies.html.

e-mail:: biotech(at)social-ecology.org