The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a final rule regarding Plant Incorporated Protectants (PIPs). PIPs are classified as pesticidal substances that are produced by plants, along with the genetic material necessary for the plant to produce that substance. EPA claims that the rule will reduce costs for the regulated community and increase research and development activities. However, the final rule has received criticism from a variety of agricultural organizations, asserting the rule will hamper development.
“EPA’s new rule adds bureaucratic layers of red tape for the development of improved plant varieties created using innovative plant breeding techniques,” said American Seed Trade Association President and CEO Andy LaVigne. “The cost of EPA’s new regulatory burden will ensure that only the largest of companies can afford to develop future innovations, resulting in the unintended consequence of driving additional industry consolidation.”
EPA acknowledges that “PIPs are one of the safest methods to control pests because of their narrow activity spectrum.” Under the final rule, the class of PIPs created through genetic engineering is exempted from registration requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. It also establishes an exemption from the food or feed residue tolerance requirements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. John Murphy, Chief Policy Officer and Deputy General Counsel for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization said that the rule imposes “an extremely narrow exemption and burdensome data requirements that render this an exemption in name only.”
Chief Science Officer for the International Fresh Produce Association, Dr. Max Teplitski also expressed disappointment in the “profoundly misguided and ill-informed” rule. The threat of plant pests and diseases, Teplitski notes, creates a substantial need for advanced breeding approaches. “The only opportunity to prevent Irish potato famine-like devastation is to invest into novel modern breeding-based approaches. Make no mistake: EPA’s final rule on Plant Incorporated Protectants brings us not one, but many steps closer to such a devastating outcome.”
About the Author
