Despite being a major controversial topic in the agricultural industry, there are currently no forms of federal legislation that directly address the regulation of  genetically modified organisms. Opponents of GMOs may argue that this lack of direct GMO regulation poses a threat to society on legal grounds, claiming that the public is being offered untested and therefore unsafe products. However, such does not mean that GMOs are not being regulated by the government, as they are under the authority of general health and safety laws and are strictly monitored primarily by the the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

 

The APHIS regulates the planting and transporting of GM plants as well as the determination of whether or not a GM plant poses a potential threat to other plants and to what extent.  

 

The FDA is responsible for evaluating the safety of GM products for both human and animal consumption.

 

The EPA monitors the effects of GM products on the environment, regulating biopesticides in particular.

 

Therefore, although the U.S. lacks direct regulation of GMOs, there are multiple agencies which regulate different aspects of its involvement in the agricultural and commercial industries, thus keeping GM products under legal safety restrictions.