Regulation of GE Plants and Animals: Trials and Tribulations

During December, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) deregulated two of Monsanto Company’s genetically engineered (GE) plants. Monsanto’s Vistive® Gold soybeans, which contain the trait MON 87705, synthesize oil with increased levels of monounsaturated fat and decreased amounts of saturated fat. These characteristics reflect 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans that advocate reductions of saturated fat and trans fat in the diet. The Vistive® Gold trait will be stacked with the Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® trait to provide tolerance to Roundup herbicide. The USDA also deregulated Monsanto’s GE drought-tolerant corn (MON 87460), which will be incorporated into the company’s insect-resistant and herbicidetolerant varieties. Monsanto announced plans for farm trials in the western Great Plains this year to familiarize growers with the corn and generate data to inform commercial decisions. In both cases, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service determined that the GE plants are unlikely to pose a plant pest risk in view of the agency’s plant pest risk assessments and draft Environmental Assessments. Consequently, neither GE plant is subject to APHIS regulation. While this may seem to be the end of the matter, APHIS deregulation can signal the first step of a thousand mile journey.