WPCN mu8뒊t)+#x[-{okdf5/ٓ*E ;ſ:qs׀?2L7/CEb}OsIY< @؟)G)'$SJu]ĿiQzŬ{l9s: ع\ PilL~B|5QK}@sgloκ֌_':rjHQAQϋ,/)zSRXj]Ⱦ^wO7?@:dΊ}k6c<1oIc(iSrX䘟v{<^=`drN.c,PFdҳ8n  .$eDqR9|gMsR\G_e+܆ta]q_x.߆wBv˽\3`kVw YILQx`@?>?>????????????????? ????`????p??p????????????????????ǁ????ǁ??ǁ??ǁ???ǁ>??~?? ????? ?????? ?????????????????????? ? ?| ??| ?|x?x|8?<8???<0??0?? 0??????8??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????~?~??~??|??|??x?߄?Ä?τ9ς?????τ9ς???Ʌ?τ?<??Ʌ??τ?|/>?C ?>d#Â? ??>Ċpg 'Ͼpg9 ?>C~ϔ8?<8<>d 0?+@g0g83`?g8 p<~ϔyq??|9yǜǞ8q8?<>fy<3<ϟg>g83q|q8q~ϔ? 矙bϞ|?>y9>fy>~g9??9~g\g?933|9~? ?bϞ|?y9>fy><?|>g9?<fLg933|y~@?aϞ|?99>fy><?|>g9?<rI?g933 |g~@?&9Ϟ|?99>fy>?<?|>g9?$>NIgg933|g~??&|Ϟ|?9>fy>?<́?|>g9??g933y|~/<?xxǜϞ|?<fx?<cq99>$?g83s|q|<.|8?<>φ|9<f?<<|>p 8g9$??80s<|.>?q~~ |y >g?|>xLg$?98?>|?Ϗώώώ???????~?>y?g?ς?g?~w~s||g<  >!? ~!!$gs~r!<}>x??<5<888<`8?<?.gp~

p3<5889sy>|q9s9gs|q+~q|s9x|q>gxϟ9<ϙ?3>gϞ|3s9>g>gyϟ"~όsy>g3:>g?<ϙ?0>g9 0s8?>g>gyϟ"~@sx>`02f>`? ϙ?0>g9 0y>O?'<>g>gyϟ&~@sx>`0O>p? ϙ?3>gϓ3y>O'?>g>gyϟǁ ~sy>g3O> ß?O >ϙ?3>ǵ?3y>O'?>g>gyϟ~|sy>g3_>ϟ?O&>yϘ9>sx?9>O'9>g>s|qϟς??<|yǞys|>s9|gx?&?Ϝ898>p8"?<>g>pϜxp~s>p8?px?&?ϟ yy>>x?<>"?>g>|'Ϝ|>x?s>|>?sx?~ߐdžߏǂ?σ{??σ>=<??ρ x8ς'ρ>Oρ>Oρ񟞁ς'ρ>Oρ>Oρ?~?ρς-'σO>OO>O!?<x y<ρ27N>o>o<`yLJ?8p >|q89?ρ2?s8x9yy|9?sg993ρ? 33~ρyy?sg983ρ? ə3&0~s  ?8xyǎx|?3?~8q3-τO8!9s<pg? ????@*J:\DRAFTS\NRLOGO.WPGJ:\DRAFTS\NRLOGO.WPGhd\,3BV4d\,,  AZ"Arial Regular        (3$ !  'dxd( $ Figure  1  VZY I&mage <=8C HKKKK !  _      @    * j\6&"`x18% `E-%y%y,%j (#(# ,         (#(#  ReleaseNo.0146.00  <`   XIXXX{XXIRemarks , P  #T{d##XfXT#0  AsPreparedforDelivery" F (#(# T  bỳSecretaryofAgricultureDan_Glickman_c  NationalAcademyofSciences1stMeetingofStandingCommitteeonBiotechnology   ЀFoodandFiberProduction,andTheEnvironmentWashington,D.C.!May4,2000   Thankyouverymuch.Imgladtobehereforyourfirstmeeting,andIwanttothankyouforserving.IbelievethatthisStandingCommitteewillonlystrengthenthelongstandingpartnershipbetweenUSDAandNAS,helpingourfarmersbecomemoreproductiveandgivingconsumersaroundtheworldahealthierandmoreabundantfoodsupply.  DeputySecretary_Rominger_Ԁwilltalkmoreinaminuteabouthowyoucanbesthelpusinyourreviewofourbiotechnologyapprovalprocess.ButIwanttofocus,forthefewminutesthatIhave,ontheClintonAdministrationsnewsetofbiotechnologyinitiatives!whattheyare,whattheymean,andwhatroletheremightbeforNAS.  Ibelieveinbiotechnologyandallthegooditcando.AndIbelieveinthesafetyofbiotechnologyproducts.ButIalsobelievethatwemustremainevervigilantandresponsivetolegitimatequestionsandconcerns.Itsclear,fromtheintensepublicdebateweveallseenoverthelastyearortwo,thatthereisnoconsensusonbiotechnology.NotintheUnitedStates...andcertainlynotinEuropeandotherglobalmarkets.  Werealizethatwehavetodomore.Wehavetomakeeveryefforttoensurethatourbiotechapprovalprocessisbuiltuponthemostup-to-datescience.Butwealsohavetodoabetterjobofcommunicatingwithconsumers.Wehavetoprovidethemwithmoreinformationaboutgeneticengineeringthattheycanunderstand.Wehavetogivethemtheconfidencethatonlythosefoodsdeemedsafefortheenvironmentandforhumanconsumptionwillmakeittotheirgrocerystoreshelves.XXXXf  ThisAdministrationiscommittedtoassuringthatourfoodsupplyissafe.Wehavea '&) recordthatdemonstratesthatcommitment.Wehaveeffectivelyusedsoundscienceandsoundjudgmenttoreduce_foodborne_ԀillnessintheUSandtoreducetheexposureofchildrentopesticideresiduesonfood.Oureffortshavealsoensuredthesafetyofeveryagriculturalbiotechproductonthemarkettoday,andtheseeffortswillcontinueintothefutureaswewillservetoensuretheoverallsafetyofproductsandapplicationsthatwecanbarelyevenimaginetoday.#XfXXXO # b,+.     ӄmore% 1&03  *            @ 2  Thatlastpoint,aboutthefuture,isimportant.Wealsohavetoplanforthefutureandwhateverbiotechnologymarvelsorchallengesithasinstore.Thatmeansconductingmoreforwardlookingresearchandensuringthatourregulationskeeppacewithinnovation.Thetechnologyisevolvingrapidly.ButwecantletitmovefasterthanourabilitytomanageitthiswillrequiregreateradaptabilityandincreasedcommitmentsonthepartoftheAdministration.  SoXXXXfthatiswhatthenewAdministrationinitiativesareallabout!strengtheningour <` sciencebasedregulationofagriculturalbiotechnology;providingconsumerswithbothaccurateinformationandasafefoodsupply;preparingforfutureinnovations;aswellaspromotingcommerceandprovidingmarketopportunitiesforU.S.farmers.#XfXXX#  @  XXXXf  Gettingtothespecificsoftheplan...tostrengthenandupdateourregulatoryframework,    theAdministrationwillassessdevelopmentsinthetechnologyandcarefullyreviewallbiotechrelatedfederalenvironmentalregulations,makingrecommendations,asneeded,toenhancethesystem.  Secondly,theinitiativewillrequirethatcompaniesgiveadequatenoticetoFDAbeforereleasingnewbiotechproductstoconsumers.BoththeinformationsubmittedbythecompanyandtheFDAsconclusionabouttheproductssafetywillbemadeavailabletothepublic.  Theplanalsocallsforasignificantincreaseinpeerreviewed,competitivelyawardedresearchtoexaminesafetyissuessurroundingbiotechnologyandtosupportourregulatorydecisions.NASwillbeanespeciallyimportantpartnerinthiseffort,aswetrytoidentifyanygapsinourscientificknowledge.  Toenhanceconsumerinformationandtosupportthemarketingofagriculturalproducts,FDAwilldevelopguidelinesforvoluntarybiotechfoodlabelsthatareclearandtruthful.Similarly,USDAwillinitiateeffortstohelpdeveloptestingproceduresandqualityassuranceprogramsdesignedtodifferentiatenonbiotechcommoditiesandtobettermeettheneedsofthemarket.BothUSDAandFDAwillinvolvethepublic,theindustryandfarmersinthedevelopmentoftheseinitiatives.  Therewillalsobeanenhancedpublicoutreachefforttoincreaseunderstandingaboutourbiotechregulatoryprocess.And,finally,USDAwillalsohelpfarmersanalyzethedemandforbiotechproducts,helpingthemmakesoundplantingandmarketingdecisions.#XfXXX# "!$   Someofthenewinitiativesarebrandnew;othersbuildonthingswerealreadydoing.Forexample,theassessmentofenvironmentalregulationscomesontopofthesciencereviewsweveaskedNAStoundertake.USDAisalreadyworkingtovalidate_GMO_Ԁtestingandtoaccreditlabsthatconductthetesting.PubliceducationandoutreachhavealreadybeenenhancedthroughtheestablishmentofthisNASStandingCommitteeandtheDepartmentsnewlyformedAdvisoryCommitteeonAgriculturalBiotechnology.        Iamconfidentthatthesenewstepswillhelpbiotechnologymaximizeitsawesome *)- potential tofeedahungryandgrowingworld...toincreaseagriculturalproductivity...to +*. preservenaturalresources...andsoon. Buttheplanalsoasksthefederalgovernmenttotakeon ,+/ newmandatesandresponsibilities.Tofulfillthem,withoutadoubtwellbeturningtoNASforguidanceandsupport.Wehavetheutmostrespectforyourexpertise,andwelookforwardtoworkingwithyouonthisprojectandmanyothersforyearstocome.Thank_you.  _@$$(### T1x04 Ї