APHIS Issues Federal Register Notice on GM Alfalfa

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has published its notice about the availability of a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for genetically modified (GM) alfalfa. The agency was required to prepare the EIS by a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling finding that APHIS violated the National Environmental Protection Act by failing to do so in connection with its determination that the crop could be deregulated. Comments must be submitted by February 16, 2010, and public meetings will be held on January 19 in Las Vegas; February 3 in Kearney, Nebraska; February 4 in Lincoln, Nebraska; and February 9 in Riverdale, Maryland. See Federal Register, January 12, 2010.

Meanwhile, Food & Water Watch, a consumer advocacy organization, is calling on supporters to take action on the EIS by telling the USDA “loud and clear that consumers want foods that are free from genetic engineering.” According to the organization’s online alert, the USDA is getting closer to approving the GM crop “despite the fact that it’s likely to contaminate other crops, including organic alfalfa. Almost all organic dairies are dependent on organic alfalfa, and organic standards don’t allow the use of GE crops.” Food & Water Watch claims that USDA has admitted there could be cross-contamination problems but does not know “if the contamination of organic alfalfa would matter to consumers of organic food.” See food&waterwatch Online Alert, January 14, 2010.