USDA Releases Secure Rule

On May 14, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the Sustainable, Ecological, Consistent, Uniform, Responsible, Efficient (SECURE) rule, providing clarity around USDA’s regulatory system for genetically engineered organisms. The rule acknowledges that some applications of gene editing result in the development of plant varieties that are essentially equivalent to varieties developed through more traditional breeding methods and would thus treat these varieties in the same way from a policy standpoint. Read ASTA’s statement here and watch ASTA’s President & CEO Andy LaVigne’s interview with RFD-TV here.