USDA Inspector General Report Criticizes Regulation Deficiencies Regarding GE Animals, Insects
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Office of Inspector General (IG)
has issued an audit report criticizing USDA agencies for lacking coordinated
oversight of regulations behind research and development of genetically
engineered (GE) animals and insects. The agencies conduct and fund research
into how GE animals can enhance the productivity of food animals and how
GE insects can reduce problems posed by agricultural pests, according to the
report.
Among its criticisms, the report faults the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) for not developing regulations for GE animals and insects that
pertain specifically to their introduction for “import, interstate movement, or
field release.” Noting that “APHIS program units focusing on biotechnology
and animal health, respectively, had not coordinated with one another to
prioritize the development of a regulatory framework for GE animals and
insects,” the report states that consequently “the requirements that apply to
these organisms were not clear to researchers and the public.”
Food & Water Watch has called for a similar IG review of the Food and Drug
Administration’s research process for GE animals.“They should start with
asking why the approval of genetically engineered salmon for human
consumption is being approved as a veterinary drug,” said the group’s executive
director Wenonah Hauter. See Food & Water Watch Press Release, June 14,
2011.
