Genetically Engineered Organism Rule Gets Struck Down by Court

The US Animal and Plan Health Inspection Service must reconsider a rule which challengers said effectively abandoned federal oversight over genetically engineered organisms, a California federal district court said.

The rule, adopted in May 2020, is vacated because the agency acted arbitrarily and capriciously under the Administrative Procedure Act, Judge James Donato of the US District Court for the Northern District of California said Monday, granting the plaintiffs summary judgment in part.

The National Family Farm Coalition and other plaintiffs who sued in 2021 are public-interest groups organized around concerns for farmers, crops, food safety, and the environment. They ...