SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Food Biotechnology
Information Initiative Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Biotechnology has been used for many years
to develop new and useful products used in a variety
of industries.
(2) Biotechnology holds the potential for bene-
fits to mankind in a number of areas by allowing in-
dividual, well-characterized genes to be transferred
from one organism to another organism and thus in-
creasing the genetic diversity available to improve
commercial plant species.
(3) Plant varieties created with biotechnology
will offer foods with better taste, more nutrition, and
longer shelf life. Farmers will be able to grow these
varieties more efficiently, leading to lower costs for
consumers and greater environmental protection
through effective and targeted pesticide and herbi-
cide use and a reduction in soil erosion through an
increase in the use of no-till farming.
(4) On April 5, 2000, the National Research
Council released a report entitled ‘‘Genetically Modi-
fied Pest-Protected Plants: Science and Regulation’’.
The report emphasized that there is no evidence that
foods produced though biotechnology are unsafe to
eat, but that, given the current level of public con-
cern over these foods, Federal agencies should con-
duct more research to reduce the concern about po-
tential harm to human health and the environment.
In addition, the report recommends that the quan-
tity, quality, and public accessibility of information
on the regulation of transgenic pest-protected plant
products should be expanded.
(5) The Food and Drug Administration, the
Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental
Protection Agency are all involved in the regulatory
process for the use of biotechnology in foods.
(6) United States consumers are increasingly
concerned that food safety issues regarding the use
of biotechnology in foods are not being adequately
addressed.
(7) All foods, including those based on bio-
technology, should continue to be subject to a rig-
orous Government regulatory process that evaluates
the safety of the products to the consumer and the
environment. This process should continue to be
based on scientific methods that meet state-of-the-
art scientific standards.
(8) Ensuring that the underlying scientific in-
formation and the regulatory framework for man-
aging biotechnology is shared with consumers is im-
perative and should be an integral part of United
States food and agriculture programs.
SEC. 3. PROGRAM OF PUBLIC EDUCATION REGARDING USE
OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN PRODUCING FOOD
FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agri-
culture, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and
Human Services (acting through the Commissioner of
Food and Drugs and in consultation with the Adminis-
trator of the Environmental Protection Agency), shall de-
velop and implement a program to communicate with the
public regarding the use of biotechnology in producing
food for human consumption. The information provided
under the program shall include the following:
(1) Science-based evidence on the safety of
foods produced with biotechnology.
(2) Scientific data on the human outcomes of
the use of biotechnology to produce food for human
consumption.
(3) An analysis of the risks and benefits to the
environment of such use, conducted in accordance
with established scientific principles, and including
information from the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency.
(b) ADMINISTRATION
AS COMPONENT
OF PRESI-
DENT’S FOOD SAFETY INITIATIVE.—Subsection (a) shall
be carried out as a component of the Food Safety Initia-
tive announced by the President on January 25, 1997, and
carried out by the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices, the Department of Agriculture, and the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. Of the funds available for such
Initiative for fiscal years 2001 and 2002, not more than
$10,000,000 may be expended each such year for carrying
out subsection (a).
SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR RESEARCH ON ECONOMIC AND ENVI-
RONMENTAL RISKS AND BENEFITS OF USING
BIOTECHNOLOGY IN FOOD PRODUCTION.
(a) EXPANSION
OF
CURRENT
RESEARCH
PRO-
GRAM.—Subsections (a) and (b) of section 1668 of the
Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990
(7 U.S.C. 5921) are amended to read as follows:
‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to—
‘‘(1) authorize and support research intended to
identify and analyze technological developments in
the area of biotechnology for the purpose of evalu-
ating the potential positive and adverse effects of
such developments on the United States farm econ-
omy and the environment and addressing public con-
cerns about potential adverse environmental effects
of using biotechnology in food production; and
‘‘(2) authorize research to help regulators de-
velop policies, as soon as practicable, concerning the
introduction and use of biotechnology.
‘‘(b) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Agri-
culture shall establish a competitive grant program to pro-
vide the necessary funding for research designed to further
the purposes specified in subsection (a). The grant pro-
gram shall be conducted through the Cooperative State
Research, Education, and Extension Service and the Agri-
cultural Research Service’’.
(b) TYPES OF RESEARCH.—Subsection (c) of such
section is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para-
graph (5); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol-
lowing new paragraph:
‘‘(4) Research designed to evaluate the poten-
tial effect of biotechnology developments on the
United States farm economy, the competitive status
of United States agricultural commodities and foods
in foreign markets, and consumer confidence in the