Press Releases

Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced the reopening of the comment period for its advance notice of proposed rulemaking for the streamlined regulatory review of agricultural animals developed through genetic engineering. Following the announcement, Republican Leader of the House Committee on Agriculture, Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, issued the following statement:

“I know Secretary Vilsack has a long history of supporting agricultural innovation. Hopefully this is a sign of continued efforts to build on the work of the last Administration that resulted in this proposal and the related MOU with FDA. A risk- and science-based review process that leads to the commercialization of animal biotechnology products is critical to ensuring our livestock producers are equipped to meet the challenges of feeding a growing population while adapting to a changing climate and reducing emissions along the way. I hope after careful evaluation of the comments received on this proposal, USDA will move expeditiously to carry out the steps necessary to fully update and implement this framework.”