Three-dozen consumer groups and businesses asked the USDA to tighten its regulation of crops containing genetically modified organisms as part of an overhaul of its regulatory system, said Reuters. The USDA says it wants to update its system. It began a modernization in 2008, then withdrew that proposal earlier this year and started over. In recommendations filed with the department, the groups called for more attention to the welfare of the environment, economy, farmers, consumers and public health, said Reuters.
Under the current framework, a GMO crop can be released for cultivation if its developers show it poses no risk to plant health. The groups said the USDA ought to monitor GMO crops for problems with weed resistance, and to prevent the crops from contaminating non-GMO crops. Proponents say there is abundant evidence, expeciially after years of widespread use, that GMO crops are safe.