Bioengineered Disclosure

Related Publications

This section contains resources representing a collection of publications that address bioengineered disclosure and bioengineered foods in general. Where possible, the Center has provided viewable copies of these publications. Nevertheless, it may be necessary to access some of the materials through an online legal research database. 

Government Guidance and Publications

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

List of Bioengineered Foods

Official Listing of Approved USDA Process Verified Programs

Official Listing of Approved USDA Process Verified Programs for Providers

Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo, et al., Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States, USDA Economic Research Service (February 2014) 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), APHIS Policy on Responding to Low-Level Presence of Regulated Genetically Engineered Plant Materials (March 2007) 

Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo and Margriet Caswell, The First Decade of Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States, USDA Economic Research Service (April 2006) 

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

FDA Consultations on Food from New Plant Varieties

Guidance for Industry: Voluntary Labeling Indicating Whether Foods Have or Have Not Been Derived from Genetically Engineered Plants (March 2019) 

Draft Revised Guidance of Industry # 187: Regulation of Intentionally Altered Genomic DNA in Animal (January 2017) 

Policy Memorandum: Consistency between Bioengineered Disclosure and the National Organic Program (September 19, 2016) 

Guidance of Industry # 187: Regulation of Genetically Engineered Animals Containing Heritable Recombinant DNA Constructs (January 15, 2009) 

Guidance for Industry # 179: Use of Animal Clones and Clone Progeny for Human Food and Animal Feed (January 2008) 

Guidance for Industry: Recommendations for the Early Food Safety Evaluation of New Non-Pesticidal Proteins Produced by New Plant Varieties Intended for Food Use (June 2006)

Guidance for Industry: Consultation Procedures under FDA’s 1992 Statement of Policy for Foods Derived from New Plant Varieties (published June 1996; revised October 1997)

Statement of Policy—Foods Derived from New Plant Varieties (May 1992) 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)

Withdrawal of Memorandum Titled, “Use of Agricultural Practices in Wildlife Management in the National Wildlife Refuge System” (August 2, 2018)

Memorandum of Use of Agricultural Practices in Wildlife Management in the National Wildlife Refuge System (July 17, 2014)

U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)

U.S. GAO Reports, Genetically Engineered Crops: USDA Needs to Enhance Oversight and Better Understand Impacts of Unintended Mixing with Other Crops, GAO 16-241 (March 2016)

U.S. GAO Reports, Genetically Engineered Crops: Agencies Are Proposing Changes to Improve Oversight, but Could Take Additional Steps to Enhance Coordination and Monitoring, GAO 09-60 (November 2008)

U.S. GAO Reports, Genetically Modified Foods: Experts View Regimen of Safety Tests as Adequate, but FDA’s Evaluation Process Could Be Enhanced, GAO 02-566 (May 2002)

Congressional Research Service (CRS)

CRS Report R46737, Agricultural Biotechnology: Overview, Regulation, and Selected Policy Issues (March 29, 2021) 

CRS In Focus IF11573, USDA’s SECURE Rule to Regulate Agricultural Biotechnology (June 12, 2020) 

CRS Report R46183, The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard: Overview and Selected Considerations (Updated February 7, 2020) 

CRS In Focus IF10650, Understanding Process Labels and Certification for Foods (May 12, 2017) 

CRS In Focus IF10376, Labeling Genetically Engineered Foods: Current Legislation (Updated July 18, 2016)

Legal Issues with Federal Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food: In Brief, R43705 (March 11, 2016)

Genetically Engineered Salmon, R43518 (Updated Dec. 8, 2015)

Agricultural Biotechnology: Background Regulation, and Policy Issues, RL32809 (Updated Jul. 28, 2015)

Unapproved Genetically Modified Wheat Discovered in Oregon and Montana: Status and Implications, R43100 (Updated Dec. 4, 2014)

Genetically Engineered Fish and Seafood: Environmental Concerns, R41486 (Updated Feb. 20, 2013)

Biotechnology in Animal Agriculture: Status and Current Issues, RL33334 (Updated May 19, 2011)

EU-Related Publications

European Union: Biotechnology and Other New Production Technologies Annual, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FSA) (December 2022) 

European Union: Biotechnology and Other New Production Technologies Annual, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FSA) (December 2021) 

European Union: Commission Publishes Biotechnology Study, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FSA) (May 2021) 

European Union: Agricultural Biotechnology Annual, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FSA) (December 2020) 

EU-27: Agricultural Biotechnology Annual, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FSA) (March 2020) 

Graham Brookes, Twenty-one years of using insect resistant (GM) maize in Spain and Portugal: farm-level economic and environmental contributions, GM Crops and Food (2019)

Giovanni Tagliabue, The EU legislation on “GMOs” between nonsense and protectionism: An ongoing Schumpeterian chain of public choices, GM Crops and Food (2017)

Gilles-Eric Séralini et al., Republished Study: long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize, Environmental Sciences Europe (2014) 

Marcel Kuntz, The GMO case in France: Politics, lawlessness and postmodernism, GM Crops Food (2014) 

Marianna Schauzu, The European Union’s Regulatory Framework on Genetically Modified Organisms and Derived Foods and Feeds, Advancements in Genetic Engineering (2013)

Sylvie Bonny, Why are most Europeans opposed to GMOs? Factors explaining rejection in France and Europe, Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 6, No. 1 (2003)

A report by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, The impact of GM corn in Spain (2003)

Legal Publications

Jordan James Fraboni, A Federal GMO Labeling Law: How it Creates Uniformity and Protects Consumers, 32 Berkeley Tech. L.J. 563 (2018)

Mary Christine Brady, Enforcing an Unenforceable Law: The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard, 67 Emory L. Rev. 771 (2018)

Jarrett Davis, Exploring the Legal Liability of Genetically Modified Organisms and their Impact on Society (2015). HIM 1990-2015. 1702.

George A. Kimbrell & Aurora L. Paulsen, The Constitutionality of State-Mandated Labeling for Genetically Engineered Foods: A Definitive Defense, 39 Vt. L. Rev. 341 (2014)

Lars Noah, Genetic Modification and Food Irradiation: Are Those Strictly on a Need-to-Know Basis?, 118 Penn. St. L. Rev. 759 (2014)

Ross H. Pifer, Mandatory Labeling Laws: What Do Recent State Enactments Portend for the Future of GMOs?, 118 Penn. St. L. Rev. 789 (2014)

Stephen Tan and Brian Epley, Much Ado About Something: The First Amendment and Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Engineered Foods, 89 Wash. L. Rev. 301 (2014)

Laura Murphy et al., More Than Curiosity: The Constitutionality of State Labeling Requirements for Genetically Engineered Foods, 38 Vt. L. Rev. 477 (2014)

MoonSook Park, A Comparative Study of GMO Labeling and Liability Systems in the US, EU, and South Korea: The Circumstances and a Future Potential for Harmonization (2014) Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4.

Alison Peck, Does Regulation Chill Democratic Deliberation? The Case of GMOs, 46 Creighton L. Rev. 653 (2013)

Debra M. Strauss, The Role of Courts, Agencies, and Congress in GMOs: A Multilateral Approach to Ensuring the Safety of the Food Supply, 48 Idaho L. Rev. 267 (2012)

Debra M. Strauss, Liability for Genetically Modified Food: Are GMOs a Tort Waiting to Happen?, The SciTech Lawyer, Vol. 9, Issue 2 (2012)

Alison Peck, Leveling the Playing Field in GMO Risk Assessment: Importers, Exporters and the Limits of Science, Boston University International Law Journal, Vol. 28, No. 2 (2011)

Gregory N. Mandel, Gaps, Inexperience, Inconsistencies, and Overlaps: Crisis in the Regulation of Genetically Modified Plants and Animals, 45 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 2167 (2004)

Emily Marden, Risk and Regulation: U.S. Regulatory Policy on Genetically Modified Food and Agriculture, 44 B.C.L. Rev. 733 (2003)

Keith D. Parr, Developments in Agricultural Biotechnology, William Mitchell Law Review (1993) 

Stakeholder Publications

Biotechnology Innovation Organization, Issue Brief: Plant Genome Editing 

Biotechnology Innovation Organization, Issue Brief: Animal Genome Editing 

Joachim Schiemann et al., Editorial: Plant Genome Editing—Policies and Governance, Frontiers in Plant Science (March 11, 2020) 

Janet Cotter and Dana Perls, Gene-Edited Organisms in Agriculture: Risks and Unexpected Consequences, Friends of the Earth and Logos International (September 2018) 

Study of Electronic or Digital Link Disclosure, A Third-Party Evaluation of Challenges Impacting Access to Bioengineered Food Disclosure, Deloitte (July 2017)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Technical Consultation on Low Levels of Genetically Modified (GM) Crops in International Food and Feed Trade, Technical Background Paper 2 (March 2014) 

Cemal Atici, Low Levels of Genetically Modified Crops in International Food and Feed Trade: FAO International Survey and Economic Analysis, FAO Commodity and Trade Policy Research Working Paper No. 44 (2014)

Janice Albert, New technologies and food labeling: the controversy over labelling of foods derived from genetically modified crops, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2010)

Consumer Perception Publications

Jane Kolodinsky, How consumers use mandatory genetic engineering (GE) labels: evidence from Vermont, Agriculture and Human Values, Vol. 36, Issue 1 (2019)

Ruskin Gautam, Label position and its impact on willingness to pay for products containing genetically modified organisms (2017). Dissertations and Theses in Agricultural Economics.

Joy N. Rumble et al., Gender and GMOs: Understanding Floridians attitudes toward GMOs through the lens of Social Judgment Theory, Journal of Applied Communications, Vol. 101. Issue 4, Art. 1 (2017)

Brandon R. McFadden and Jayson L. Lusk, What consumers don’t know about genetically modified food, and how that affects beliefs, the FASEB Journal, Vol. 30, No. 9 (May 2016)

Shahla Wunderlich and Kelsey A. Gatto, Consumer Perception of Genetically Modified Organisms and Sources of Information, Adv. Nutr. (Nov. 2015)

Geoffrey Barrows et al., Agricultural Biotechnology: The Promise and Prospects of Genetically Modified Crops, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 28, No. 1 (2014)

Latifah Amin et al., Determinants of Public Attitudes to Genetically Modified Salmon, PLoS ONE 9(1): e86174 (2014)

Diane M. Phillips and William K. Hallman, Consumer Risk Perceptions and Marketing Strategy: The Case of Genetically Modified Food, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 30(9): 739-748 (Sep. 2013)

Thomas J. Hoban, Public Attitudes towards Agricultural Biotechnology, FAO Agricultural and Development Economics Division (May 2004) 

William K. Hallman et al., Public Perceptions of Genetically Modified Foods: A National Study of American Knowledge and Opinion, Food Policy Institute, Cook College, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (2003)