Key Takeaways
- A federal judge invalidated the USDA’s 2020 SECURE rule exempting genetically engineered (GE) plants from regulation.
- The ruling requires the USDA to reconsider its stance on GE crops, citing insufficient scientific justification for exemptions.
- This decision reinstates stricter pre-2020 regulations, potentially delaying the approval of new herbicide-resistant crops.
Judicial Review of Genetically Engineered Crop Regulations
A federal judge in California has overturned a USDA rule established in 2020 that exempted genetically engineered (GE) plants from federal regulation. This ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge James Donato, highlights significant concerns over the safety and oversight of GE crops, which are engineered for traits such as herbicide resistance.
The judge criticized the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) SECURE rule, stating that it failed to adequately address scientific concerns, particularly those raised in a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine review. Judge Donato pointed out that APHIS’s reliance on a 1989 study was misplaced, as it overlooked relevant scientific findings published in 2002.
Critically, Donato stated that the final rule issued by APHIS did not consider conflicting scientific evidence that calls into question the basis for exempting GE plants from regulatory requirements. The judge’s order requires APHIS to reevaluate the implications of the ruling and to assess how it affects other recent exemptions.
George Kimbrell, Co-Executive Director and Legal Director at the Center for Food Safety (CFS), one of the plaintiffs challenging the 2020 rule, expressed that the decision effectively dismantles the entire framework of exemptions since they depended on the now-invalidated rule. Kimbrell remarked that without the 2020 rule, these exemptions are unsupported and therefore invalid.
Under the implications of this ruling, the biotech industry may revert to pre-2020 regulations. This will mandate APHIS to follow the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act when assessing GE crops, reinforcing previous oversight that had been significantly relaxed under the Trump administration. CFS noted that the court’s decision serves as a critique against efforts to diminish the regulatory oversight of novel GE technologies, emphasizing that many GE plants previously required agency approval for both experimental and commercial use.
Reactions from industry groups such as the Biotechnology Innovation Organization and the American Seed Trade Association, which both participated in the lawsuit, indicate ongoing evaluations of the ruling, stressing the importance of innovative biotechnology for agriculture and environmental sustainability.
The court’s findings underscored that APHIS had not adequately addressed any of the key issues it acknowledged during the lengthy development of the 2020 rule. The judge explicitly noted that the scientific evidence presented during the case repudiated the rationale for allowing exemptions for GE crops.
Further organizations involved in the lawsuit included the National Family Farm Coalition, Pesticide Action Network, Center for Environmental Health, and the Center for Biological Diversity, which CFS represented. The USDA has not provided an immediate comment regarding the ruling but may seek a stay from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
In summary, this ruling marks a significant shift back to more robust regulatory controls over genetically engineered crops, reflecting public and scientific concern regarding their safety and environmental impact.
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