New USDA Program Invites Blatant Conflicts of Interest for GMO
Filed Under: Green Politics, Health Issues, Organic Gardening on May 18, 2011
The United States Department of Agriculture has changed the rules for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) with a new program called the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Pilot Project. This new program is for companies working with genetically modified organisms (GMO), genetically engineered (GE), or genetic modification (GM) who must complete an Environmental Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement on their GMO/GE/GM food when requesting deregulated status.
The trouble is, this new program is set up so that all of the documentation and analysis is done by the organization attempting to get their GMO deregulated. In other words, if a GM giant like Monsanto wants a new strain of GE what to be approved as a deregulated seed so that they can sell it to farmers, all they have to do is prepare their own assessment and analysis of the product’s likely impact, give it to the USDA, and receive approval through APHIS.
Obviously, these companies will be completely honest and forthcoming about the negative effects of their seeds and plants. Right? Ya, sure.
This entire process removes all semblance of objectivity from the support documents and scientific inquiry required for approval. It basically tells the Monsantos of the world: “If you can spin it well enough so it looks legitimate, you’ll get approval.”
Want to try to stop this? The Alliance for Natural Health is asking people to join an email flood to APHIS to force a change to this policy via public opinion. You can send your own email through their system at this link.
