GET GM FUEL AND FIBER UP TO SPEED

A group of graduate students from the University of Minnesota are asking Congress to trim the regulatory process for GM crops that produce fuel or fiber. The seven students, who are doing graduate work at Minnesota's College of Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Sciences, believe the regulatory hurdles to commercializing these kinds of traits are slowing down innovation.In a letter to U.S. Representatives dated Feb. 1, the students pointed out that it costs between $20 million to $30 million to guide a GM crop through the regulatory process, a price tag that limits smaller companies. "Each of us has numerous ideas about genetic modification that could be developed into start-up crop companies and bring more competition into the marketplace dominated by a few mega-companies that can afford the regulatory process," the students wrote.The letter called for Congress to pass a bipartisan bill that funnels GM fuel or fiber crops through either USDA or EPA rather than both, and trims regulatory costs. By leaving GM food crops out of the equation, the bill could avoid dealing with the FDA, which would simplify the process, the students added.