USA
April 3, 2014

Source: National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG)

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspections Service (APHIS) Administrator Kevin Shea testified before the House Appropriations Committee agriculture subcommittee on Wednesday about the current backlog of pending petitions for biotechnology products.

Shea told subcommittee members that USDA planned to have the backlog reduced by half within a year. In addition to Shea, witnesses included Ed Avalos, USDA undersecretary of marketing and regulatory programs.

Avalos commented that USDA was committed to reducing the current petition timeline, which many throughout the agriculture industry feel is too long and costly, putting growers from the U.S. at a disadvantage with competing nations that sometimes see products readily available in a more timely fashion.

Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt (R- Ala.) also asked why the process to review petitions is so lengthy, stating that it took nearly 900 days to approve only eight products, and expressed concern that the “politics of biotech may be interfering the scientific review process.”

While no biotech wheat is currently available for commercial use, NAWG remains committed to exploring the use of biotechnology as an option for U.S. wheat farmers.

NAWG also supports industry efforts to ensure these safe and effective products continue to be readily available for use by America’s farmers.

For more on NAWG’s policy, visit http://www.wheatworld.org/issues/biotech.

Website: http://www.wheatworld.org

Published: April 6, 2014