Four short years ago, when the U.S. vice presidency was not even a glimmer in his eye, Senator Al Gore (D-Tenn ) argued forcefully in favor of creating a unified federal policy on biotechnology. Gore's aim was to ensure both the ethical practice of biotechnology and ultimately its economic viability. The slapdash nature of regulatory statutes governing biotechnology--which fell under the overlapping authorities of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA, Rockville, MD), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA, Washington, DC) and the US. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, Washington, DC)--was evident to anyone with eyes to see.
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