Agriculture Biotech Working Group

The Agriculture Biotech Working Group is an interagency group formed by the Obama administration in late 2010. It consisted of "more than 35 officials from ten agencies to promote GE agriculture. This Working Group includes officials from the White House and its OMB, Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP), Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the Trade Rep.  It also has officials from State, Justice, Agriculture, EPA and FDA."


 * "A central task of this Working Group is to legally insulate GE crops on refuges from further litigation. Initially, it tried to pressure the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which operates the National Wildlife Refuge System, to rescind its Ecological Integrity Policy, which forbids GE planting unless found to be essential to accomplishing a refuge purpose. Working with BIO, these officials then helped prepare environmental assessments to start paving a legal path for GE plantings on 75 refuges in 30 states."

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Biotechnology
 * Genetic Engineering
 * GMO Policies by Country

External articles

 * "Why is the White House Backing Genetically Engineered Crops?," SustainableBusiness.com, July 26, 2011.