The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced its decision yesterday to grant non-regulated status for alfalfa that has been genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide commercially known as Roundup.
"After
conducting a thorough and transparent examination of
alfalfa through a multi-alternative environmental
impact statement (EIS) and several public comment
opportunities, APHIS has determined that Roundup
Ready alfalfa is as safe as traditionally bred
alfalfa," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.
More
information on areas of support USDA will provide
outside of the regulatory arena is available
online .
APHIS' deregulation
of Roundup ready alfalfa will become effective
upon publication of the Agency's determination
of nonregulated status in the Federal Register.
USDA's Record of Decision on RR alfalfa is
available to the public at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/
