Is the U.S. government adequately ensuring that GE crops are safe for the environment?
The short answer is no. Although USDA has regulatory oversight over all releases of GE crops into the environment, most field trials get little government scrutiny and only a handful get an individual environmental assessment. That is particularly problematic for crops engineered to produce non-food substances, such as an industrial compound or a pharmaceutical. Thus, before any genetically engineered plant is grown in the open, USDA should conduct a thorough environmental review. In addition, that review process should be open to the public so that any person can review the safety data submitted by the applicant and provide comments to USDA before the agency makes its decision. For plants producing a pesticide, EPA usually conducts a thorough environmental assessment of that crop before it is allowed to be used commercially and allows the public to participate in that process. EPA’s regulatory process could be improved by requiring more field testing as well as by establishing specifi
