U.S. Approves Genetically Modified Alfalfa

The agriculture secretary pulled back from a proposal that would have restricted the growing of genetically engineered alfalfa to protect organic farmers.Agriculture Secretary Mr. Vilsack pulled back from a novel proposal that would have restricted the growing of genetically engineered alfalfa to protect organic farmers from so-called biotech contamination. That proposal drew criticism at a recent Congressional hearing and in public forums where Mr. Vilsack outlined the option.But the proposal ran into considerable opposition in Congress and from some farm groups and biotechnology companies.They argued that since the department’s environmental impact statement had concluded that growing the alfalfa would be safe, the government was obligated to allow it to be grown without restrictions.
The final environmental impact statement, 2,300 pages long, was released last month. It said that the department would decide between two options: allowing unrestricted commercial growing or partly restricted growing.