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Apr 16, 2015
The Ag Biotech Alliance sent a letter on April 10, co-signed by ASA, to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) providing comments on the coexistence workshop held in North Carolina in March.
The letter stated positions consistent with ASA’s position during the recent Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture (AC-21) process: that the best approach to coexistence for all types of production – conventional, organic, identity preserved (IP) and biotech – is for USDA to facilitate cooperation and provide educational opportunities for growers at the local level; that coexistence between producers is working well, and has been practiced successfully both before and since biotech crops were introduced; and, that this approach provides the greatest flexibility for all farmers to respond to market demand for non-biotech, biotech, IP and organic crops. ASA continues to encourage the Department to support resolution of coexistence issues at the local level.
