The American Soybean Association (ASA) supports today’s White House biotechnology initiatives to reinforce the strength and transparency of science-based regulation and enhance information access for farmers and consumers. While ASA has complete confidence in the current regulatory oversight of biotechnology conducted by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Association has advocated that the government should assess the review process to reassure consumers about the safety of agricultural biotechnology.

"Last year, ASA presented the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee with a list of suggestions on what the Federal government could do to strengthen the commercial environment for biotechnology crops and products," said ASA President Marc Curtis, a producer from Leland, Miss. "ASA finds that the initiatives announced today by the White House support recommendations advanced by the Association."

On October 7, 1999, ASA called for a biotech labeling policy that would provide voluntary guidelines for non-biotech claims, similar to what is done for the labeling of organic products. ASA does not support mandatory labeling of products made from biotech crops that have been declared substantially equivalent to conventional crops in terms of safety, composition, nutrition, and allergenicity. Today’s announcement that FDA is charged with developing guidelines for voluntary efforts to label food products as containing or not containing bioengineered ingredients is consistent with ASA’s position.

Last November at an FDA public hearing, ASA expressed confidence in the current regulatory oversight of biotechnology conducted by FDA, EPA and USDA. At that time, ASA also said it would endorse replacing the voluntary process with a mandatory approval process if that would strengthen FDA’s ability to reassure consumers regarding the safety of these products.

"Since there has already been a high level of voluntary consultations with FDA prior to the introduction of new biotech varieties, ASA supports requiring 120 days notification before new agricultural biotechnology crops or products are introduced into the food supply," Curtis said. "I think that making available to the public the information submitted by the company, along with FDA’s conclusion, should help instill greater confidence that the system is working."

Ever since soybeans derived through biotechnology were first commercially harvested in 1996, ASA has been one of the lead organizations engaged in educational efforts to inform customers here in the U.S. and in export markets about the composition, nutritional profile, and safety of biotech-derived soybeans and soybean products. ASA is pleased that the Administration is directing USDA, FDA, EPA, and the State Department to enhance domestic and foreign public education and outreach activities to improve understanding of the nature and strength of the U.S. regulatory process.

ASA is a long-time advocate of crop research and supports an expanded program by USDA, FDA and EPA to competitively award peer-reviewed research focusing on current and future safety issues for biotechnology.

"People should realize that farmers want to know that the products they grow are safe to eat and safe for the environment," Curtis said. "Most farmers live and raise their children on the same land where they farm, and we eat the same food as everyone else."

"One of the biggest challenges farmers face is making the right planting decision in view of the current controversy surrounding biotechnology," Curtis said. "Since the introduction of biotech soybean seedstock in 1996, ASA has offered advice to producers about the market for both biotech and non-biotech soybean varieties. ASA welcomes USDA’s involvement in this effort to provide farmers with reliable information to help them make informed decisions."

As part of its educational efforts, the ASA hosted a series of town hall meetings to help producers make well-informed planting decisions. ASA also mailed a printed guide titled, "Planting Decision 2000," to more than a quarter-million soybean producers in January. That information is also available to the public on ASA’s web site at www.amsoy.org/biotech.

ASA also welcomes the participation of USDA to work with farmers and industry to facilitate the creation of reliable testing procedures and quality assurance programs for differentiating non-bioengineered commodities. Uniform standards for testing will better meet the needs of the market and will help both farmers and end-users.

"The ASA is a strong advocate of agricultural biotechnology as a tool that can help farmers produce safer, more nutritious food more efficiently and more abundantly," Curtis said. "The White House has made clear that these initiatives reaffirm the federal government’s confidence in its independent, science-based regulatory approach to agricultural biotechnology and that as a result of these additional measures, Americans will be in a better position to realize fully the enormous promise that biotechnology has to offer."