A September 1999 Gallup Poll found that Americans most familiar with modern biotechnology are also the most supportive of its use to improve our food supply and that more than three-fourths of Americans are confident in the federal government to ensure the safety of the nation's food supply. Western Governors believe that further advances in modern biotechnology may result in improved crops, for example, that combat vitamin and mineral deficiencies that afflict hundreds of millions of people worldwide or that can be used to produce life-saving vaccines and biodegradable plastics. Western Governors also support the responsible use of biotechnology to benefit people in their states, the nation, and the world, and the global environment through high-yield agricultural production. Western Governors acknowledge and recognize that federal oversight by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration over foods and food ingredients, whether produced by biotechnology or conventional means is necessary and effective in ensuring and maintaining a safe and stable food supply. Western governors recognize that biotechnology is a rapidly developing field and that it will be appropriate to periodically review federal regulatory activities.
Western governors support public dialogue on the concerns surrounding biotechnology.
Western Governors believe that discoveries made in biotechnology can significantly enhance our quality of life, from the medicines we use, to the food we eat, to the environment in which we live. The Western Governors' Association shall convey this resolution to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Director of the United States Food and Drug Administration, the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the appropriate Congressional committees. Approval of a WGA resolution requires an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Board of the Directors present at the meeting. Dissenting votes, if any, are indicated in the resolution. The Board of Directors is comprised of the governors of Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.