APHIS says it has approved nearly 20,000 field-trial permits, covering an estimated 100,000 plantings of gene-altered crops.

The documents show how the obscure Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), part of the Agriculture Department, takes an industry-friendly approach in seeking to prevent contamination or economic harm from field trials (OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED PLANTS/ORGANISMS.)...APHIS says it has approved nearly 20,000 field-trial permits, covering an estimated 100,000 plantings of gene-altered crops. The agency says it has no firm count.

Once genetically engineered crops become commercialized, no government agency tracks them.  That underscores the importance of monitoring field trials, particularly with crops like alfalfa and canola, and grasses with sexually compatible wild relatives....

APHIS officials said they have bolstered the agency's science capacity and increased its inspection staff to 130.

Nonetheless, APHIS is drawing heat from farmers worried about the potential effects of so many field trials.  Last year more than 150 farm groups and businesses, many in the organic trade, asked the Agriculture Department to strengthen oversight of field trials.   http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/GMO-experiments-receive-questionable-oversight-5740478.php

................

10-23-2015   The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday signed off on a new genetically modified type of corn developed by Monsanto Co after a review concluded it posed no significant threat to agricultural crops, other plants or the environment.

The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced it would deregulate Monsanto's MON 87411 maize, which was developed to protect plants against corn rootworms that can damage roots and drag down grain yields and be tolerant to the herbicide glyphosate.

The so-called trait would be inserted into a line of corn seeds' genetic code and could be "stacked" with other traits.

Glyphosate, which the World Health Organization has said is "probably" linked to cancer, is the active weed-killing ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup and other herbicides produced by farm chemical companies. 

The agency's move is a step in the multiyear process of commercializing genetically engineered seed traits. Other steps include assessments by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and regulators in other countries.

The EPA's review is still ongoing. The agency's scientific advisory panel has raised red flags on the issue, however, and criticized weak guidelines in assessing the risks of such biotechnology, said Doug Gurian-Sherman, a senior scientist at advocacy group the Center for Food Safety.   http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/23/us-usa-monsanto-gmo-idUSKCN0SH2HR20151023#rxUXFGUjY1E0dFR9.97