SAN FRANCISCO Today Center for Food Safety (CFS) and allied plaintiffs
filed a new federal lawsuit challenging the 2020 decision by the Trump administration’s Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) to eliminate most genetically engineered (GE) organism oversight, including future GE crops, trees, and grasses. Previously nearly all GE plants had to go through formal USDA approval before open air experiments or prior to commercial use.
The new Trump USDA regulations exempt broad categories of GE organisms from any pre-market approval and pass any assessment duties to the biotech/pesticide companies to “self-determine” whether their products are exempt or regulated. As explained in the 90-page complaint, the rule change violated numerous core environmental laws, including the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Plant Protection Act. It also unconstitutionally delegated USDA’s statutory responsibilities to self-interested industry.