President-elect Donald Trump attacked over-regulation by the government during his campaign, so “big questions have arisen over how far he’ll go,” said Civil Eats, which spoke to food-policy activists about the outlook. With Republicans in control of Congress, the budgets of the EPA and the FDA could come under attack, but it would be very difficult to eliminate an agency like EPA, said food-safety advocates.
In a speech laying out his plans for the first 100 days in office, Trump said agencies would be required to eliminate two regulations for each new regulation that they issue, and there would be a hiring freeze on federal workers not involved in the military, public safety or public-health work.
Activists told Civil Eats that it would be an easy step for Trump to annul executive orders issued by President Obama, the tool used by Obama to institute a government-wide policy to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics. “Also vulnerable to actual undoing are unfinished agency rules and regulations.” Pending at USDA are rules on livestock marketing, animal-welfare standards on organic farms and disclosure of GMOs in food. The FDA’s voluntary standards on salt in food also could be revoked, said the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Ongoing EPA review of pesticides that include glyphosate are another area of concern, said Civil Eats.