United States Department of Agriculture
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Mexico’s proposal to phase out glyphosate, GM corn spurs ‘across-the-board’ farmer opposition, USDA says
On December 31, 2020, Mexico published a decree which announced a revocation of existing permits for genetically engineered (GE) corn, ...

USDA, Health and Human Services reach agreement to bring US animal gene-editing rules ‘into the 21st century’
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued the following statement after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Assistant Secretary ...

USDA approves GM petunias engineered to produce orange flowers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) [January 19 announced] the deregulation of petunia ...

USDA: ‘Fear mongering’ keeps EU scared of growing GMOs, while it relies on US biotech grain imports
Commercial cultivation of GE crops in the EU is limited to one percent of the EU’s total corn area (102 ...

Philippines’ progress on biotech crop and animal approvals slowed by COVID pandemic
The Philippines is a biotechnology leader in Southeast Asia, highlighted by its co-sponsorship of the International Statement on Agricultural Applications ...

Thailand advances legislation to repeal GM crop cultivation ban for second time in 5 years
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment anticipates that the Biodiversity Law, which includes biosafety regulations covering research, field trial, ...

99 percent of almost 10,000 foods below legal pesticide safety levels, USDA finds
The EPA sets “tolerances” to ensure that any potential residues resulting from strictly regulated pesticide use are safe for consumers ...

Neonicotinoid insecticide ban, drought could cut French sugar beet yields 30-50 percent, USDA finds
France is the largest producer of sugar beets in Europe growing just over 30 percent of EU27+UK's production in ...

USDA invites public comment on petition to approve GMO chestnut tree
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is inviting public comment on a petition ...

Over 90 percent of US corn, cotton and soybean produced from GMO crops, latest USDA data show
Genetically Engineered (GE) seeds were commercially introduced in the United States for major field crops in 1996, with adoption rates ...

USDA proposes measures to crack down on fraud in organic farming
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) proposes amending the USDA organic regulations to strengthen oversight ...

France’s proposed 2022 glyphosate weedkiller ban would harm conservation agriculture, USDA says
The French government’s agricultural research institute found that banning glyphosate will significantly increase production costs for French farmers practicing no-till ...

Strict gene-edited crop rules in France could threaten US agriculture exports, USDA warns
In May 2020 France notified the European Commission of its intention to delist in-vitro random mutagenesis with chemical or physical ...

France reinstates ban on US cherry imports over pesticide safety fears
On April 8, 2020 France published its fifth emergency decree banning fresh cherry imports from countries where the use of ...

Neonicotinoid insecticide ban, poor weather cut EU canola harvest area to 13-year low, USDA finds
Rapeseed production in the European Union (EU27 + UK) for 2020/21 is forecast at 17.0 million metric tons (mmt), 0.2 ...

USDA eliminates antiquated rules for GMOs which it says will bring plant biotech regulations ‘into the 21st century’
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue [May 14] announced a final rule updating and modernizing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ...

Microscopic algae diet could help honeybees fight off deadly pathogens and other threats
A microscopic algae ("microalgae") could provide a complete and sustainably sourced supplemental diet to boost the robustness of managed honey ...

Brexit unlikely to change UK’s restrictive GMO crop rules in the next 3 years, USDA reports
In his inaugural speech as Prime Minister (PM) in July 2019, Boris Johnson said “let’s liberate the UK’s extraordinary bioscience ...

Ultraviolet irradiation could kill mold on strawberries, cutting fungicide use and food waste
How many times have you purchased a package of beautiful, red, ripe strawberries from the grocery store only to have ...

Following Golden Rice approval, Philippines poised to implement rules to accommodate GMO animals, CRISPR crops
The Philippines continues to be a regional biotechnology leader. Golden Rice (GR2E) field tests were harvested in October 2019 and ...

GMO crop, animal production ban necessary to safeguard Russia’s food security, says President Vladimir Putin
On January 21, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new Food Security Doctrine for Russia to replace the Doctrine ...

US-China deal reduces trade barriers for GMO crops, says USDA’s Sonny Perdue
U.S. Secretary Perdue issued the following statement after President Donald J. Trump signed the historic Phase One Trade Agreement between ...

USDA, FDA, EPA launch website to promote ‘science-based’ agriculture biotechnology rules
[I]n recognition of January 2020 as National Biotechnology Month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration ...

99% of tested food samples ‘well below’ EPA pesticide safety limits, new USDA report shows
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) [Dec. 10] published the 2018 Pesticide Data Program (PDP) Annual ...

USMCA trade deal boosts American agriculture, supports gene-editing technology, USDA says
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued the following statement after United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Speaker of ...

Nanosensor detects trace amounts of chemicals, helping farmers cut pesticide, fertilizer use
Good things come in small packages. Sadly, so do bad things. That’s where Iowa State University’s (ISU) Department of Mechanical ...

Infographic: USDA data reveal dramatic growth of GMO crop adoption in US since 1996
Herbicide-tolerant (HT) crops, which tolerate potent herbicides (such as glyphosate, glufosinate, and dicamba), provide farmers with a broad variety of ...

USDA: Dry weather, neonicotinoid insecticide ban caused ‘substantial decrease’ in EU rapeseed production
Rapeseed is the dominant oilseed produced in the EU making the EU one of the world’s leadingproducers of rapeseed and ...