Federal Judge Reinstates Old GE Crop Regulations
U.S. District Judge James Donato has issued a summary judgment that critics say sets back agricultural innovation by decades.
The judgment, issued last December in the case of National Family Farm Coalition v. Vilsack, challenges the progress made under the 2020 SECURE rule by reinstating older, process-focused regulations for genetically engineered (GE) crops.
This ruling impacts the regulatory approach towards newer molecular GE techniques, like CRISPR, which have been recognized for their precision and potential benefits in agriculture.
Previously, the SECURE rule had shifted regulatory oversight to focus more on the product's risk rather than the method of its creation, a move supported by decades of scientific research and innovation.