[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline solid” sep_color=”#000000″ margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]APHIS announces permits required prior to start of GE Wheat variety field trials[/title][fusion_text]Monday, December 14th 2015
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced today that as of Jan. 1, it will require developers of genetically engineered wheat varieties to apply for permits before conducting field trials. The agency told stakeholders its decision to employ a “more stringent permit process” – over the current notification process – “will provide added protection that GE wheat will not persist in the environment after field trials are concluded, and will remain confined during the trials.” In 2013 and 2014, regulated GE wheat developed by Monsanto was found growing in Oregon – where field trials of GE wheat were never authorized – and in Montana – where the last authorization for a field trial of GE wheat had expired over 10 years ago. The wheat found at both locations contained Monsanto’s glyphosate resistant trait MON71800, but were genetically different. The permit reporting requirements will help reassure trading partners “that the U.S. is committed to being the world’s reliable supplier of grain,” the agency said. APHIS said the change would affect “a small number of regulated activities and about a dozen applicants.” For context, APHIS authorized 21 field trial authorizations for GE wheat in 2014. By using a permit system, as opposed to a notification system, APHIS can now apply site-specific requirements, such as longer volunteer monitoring periods with specific reporting requirements in dry-land agriculture with no tillage. And unlike notifications, APHIS said, greater monitoring of volunteer plants (plants that grow following a harvest) and reporting requirements under permits will “help both the permittee and APHIS collect relevant data to employ and evaluate risk-based confinement conditions.” APHIS closed a month-long public comment period on its proposal to strengthen oversight of field trials for GE wheat on Oct. 26.
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