Genetically modified plants and regulatory loopholes and weaknesses under the plant protection act

Journal or Publishing Institution: Vermont Law Review

Study: https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/vlr37§ion=14

Author(s): Montgomery, E.

Article Type: Journal Publication

Record ID: 1666

Text: In July 2011, in a decision that “upturn[ed]” the biotech industry and “outrage[d] its opponents,” the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced that it would not regulate a genetically modified (GM) variety of popular lawn grass (1). Scotts Miracle-Gro Company developed a strain of Kentucky Bluegrass that is engineered to tolerate application of the herbicide glyphosate (sold as the popular “Roundup” herbicide). In the announcement, APHIS ruled that the grass is outside the scope of federal regulation (2). Traditionally, APHIS authority over GM plants has been based on its “plant pest” authority under the Plant Protection Act (PPA) (3). The main reason that GM plants are usually subject to the plant pest authority is that the plants have historically been engineered using material that falls squarely within the definition of a plant pest, such as a virus or bacteria (4). For instance, the Agrobacterium tumefaciens bacterium and the Califlower mosaic virus – both listed specifically as plant pests by APHIS – are common tools that act as carriers or triggers for inserting foreign genes into plants (5).

However, Scotts created the GM bluegrass without the use of any plant pest. The bluegrass was engineered using a “gene gun,” which is a “common lab technique that shuttles DNA on high-velocity heavy metals” (6)…

Keywords: Genetically Modified Plants, Regulatory Loopholes, Biotechnology, Roundup, Plant Protection Act, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Califlower Mosaic Virus, GM Bluegrass, GE Kentucky Bluegrass, Genetically Engineered Organisms, Transgenic, Recombinant DNA Technology, Regulatory Policy, Regulatory Structure, Adverse Impacts

Citation: Montgomery, E., 2012. Genetically modified plants and regulatory loopholes and weaknesses under the plant protection act. Vermont Law Review, 37, p.351.