St. Louis, Missouri
July 31, 2007
The American Soybean
Association (ASA) today expressed support for the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) deregulation of the second
generation Roundup Ready® soybean called Roundup RReady2Yield™,
also known as event MON 89788, which Monsanto anticipates
bringing to the U.S. market in 2009. The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration has already approved Roundup RReady2Yield
soybeans for human and animal consumption. The completion of
U.S. regulatory processes is a necessary step toward obtaining
approvals in some export markets around the globe. The
government of Canada has also granted full approval for the
planting of this new soybean trait in Canada.
“Soybean producers welcome the development of new
biotech-enhanced soybean varieties,” said ASA President John
Hoffman, a soybean producer from Waterloo, Iowa. “It is my
understanding that Roundup RReady2Yield soybeans will offer a 7
to 11 percent yield advantage over first-generation Roundup
Ready beans, while providing the same tolerance to the Roundup
herbicides we are now using to manage weeds. Higher soybean
yields increase the ability of U.S. soybean growers to supply
food, feed, and fuel markets domestically and around the globe.”
Soybeans account for nearly 70 percent of the world’s protein
meal consumption, and 75 percent of the edible fats and oils
consumed in the United States. About 91 percent of the soybeans
planted in the United States this year were grown from Roundup
Ready varieties.
“The American Soybean Association has been consulting closely
with Monsanto over the past two years to ensure that regulatory
approvals also are being sought in all major soy export markets
that have biotech regulatory approval processes,” Hoffman said.
“Until the required approvals are obtained, Monsanto is
implementing robust stewardship practices to ensure that all
seed and grain produced during seed increase activities is
contained and controlled until the targeted commercial launch of
the product in 2009.”
Compared with other commodities, containment of soybean
outcrossing during seed development is easier because soybean
plants are self-pollinating. The soybean has both the male and
female reproductive structures within the same flower.
Pollination and fertilization takes place within each flower
before the flower opens.
“ASA will continue to monitor the progress being made on global
regulatory reviews and approvals,” Hoffman said. “Monsanto is
making every effort to make regulatory submissions and obtain
timely regulatory approvals for Roundup RReady2Yield soybeans in
key soybean importing countries, so there is every reason to
believe that the necessary regulatory approvals will be obtained
prior to the targeted commercial introduction.
“Timely overseas regulatory approvals are critical because
growers around the world have rapidly adopted new
biotech-enhanced seed varieties as they became available,”
Hoffman said. “U.S. growers look forward to this and several
other new biotech-enhanced soybean varieties now under
development that will offer important benefits to consumers,
growers, and the environment, ranging from healthy oil profiles
to increased yields to better weed control.” |
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