On August 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input on its formulation of processes, priorities, and criteria for...more
On May 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a joint plan to identify areas of ambiguity, gaps, or uncertainty in...more
Key Takeaways -
What Happened: Florida passed a ban on the manufacture and sale of cultivated meat. Who’s Impacted: Cultivated meat manufacturers and distributors....more
Agriculture is on the very frontlines of our changing climate. Climate change directly affects many of the most fundamental aspects of agricultural production: the length of crop growing seasons; the ranges of insects, weeds,...more
On September 12, 2022, President Biden issued an Executive Order (EO) calling on his Administration to renew efforts to improve the clarity and efficiency of regulatory processes for biotechnology products. Launching a new...more
Update -
In response to stakeholder requests, USDA-FSIS has extended the comment period for its proposed rule to December 3, 2021.
On September 3, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection...more
On September 3, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) opened a comment period in advance of a proposed rule on labeling requirements for meat and poultry products comprised...more
Congress and the Biden Administration recently have taken substantial steps toward facilitating land-based solutions to global climate change, including measures specifically focused on agriculture. These actions would...more
President Biden’s January 27, 2021 Executive Order 14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad” ("the Order”) focuses unprecedented attention on the role that agriculture can play in combating climate change and...more
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS) published its final rule establishing the Domestic Hemp Production Program on January 19, 2021, effective March 22, 2021. The final rule...more
Key Takeaways What Happened: USDA is seeking comment on its intent to transfer portions of the regulatory framework governing agricultural animals modified or produced by genetic engineering from USDA to FDA....more
Key Takeaways:
What Happened: On August 5, 2020, USDA proposed a significant expansion of certification and recordkeeping requirements and enforcement activities under the National Organic Program....more
Key Takeaways:
What Happened: USDA published guidance describing two pathways for regulated parties to demonstrate that a product is exempt from federal bioengineered food labeling requirements....more
Late last week, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced the Growing Climate Solutions Act, aimed at increasing and encouraging nature-based greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions in the agriculture and forestry sectors....more
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published final amendments to its biotechnology regulations codified at 7 C.F.R. part 340 under the Plant Protection...more
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) strengthen existing efforts to prepare for oversight of...more
Producers of cell-cultured meat – synthetic meat products derived from animal cell cultures that are intended to simulate the taste, appearance, and texture of traditional animal products – may soon receive regulatory...more
On May 28, 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a legal opinion resolving significant ambiguities about the legality of hemp following the passage of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (more commonly...more
Passage of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (commonly known as the “Farm Bill") into law on Thursday, December 20, 2018 is anticipated to encourage rapid growth in the burgeoning U.S. hemp industry. The $867 billion...more
On February 8, 2018, the United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) filed a petition with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) requesting that the Agency establish a food labeling requirement that the term...more
On December 27, 2017, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) announced a new procedure for U.S. soybean exporters to comply with China’s phytosanitary import...more
On December 29, 2017, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS) issued its annual report on the status of agricultural biotechnology in China. According to the new report, which...more
On September 18, 2016, the Obama Administration issued two major documents in connection with its ongoing efforts to modernize the federal Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology. The first document, a...more
On July 29, President Obama signed into law a bill establishing first-ever federal requirements for the labeling of food containing genetically engineered ingredients. The bill, known as S.764, directs the U.S. Department of...more