ABSTRACT
In principle, the enabling legislation of our most powerful regulatory bodies, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) places the agricultural biotechnology industry within their purview for governmental oversight. We can identify three good reasons for intensive regulation: First, biotechnology can disrupt ecological systems. For instance, transgenic plants contain novel genes which may migrate to unintended weedy species, a concern of the USDA. Secondly, new transgenic products may contain novel proteins with allergenic or toxic properties, a focus for the FDA. Third, the plants produced may contain higher concentrations of oversprayed pesticides, making new tolerances necessary, a domain of the EPA. Examples of each of these untoward events have in fact been reported. \et, as we will document, each agency has ducked responsibility and regulatory review has been blunted. Why?
