diff --git a/packages/meteor-env-dev/env.js b/packages/meteor-env-dev/env.js
index 7153e93395..4a8964a5c2 100644
--- a/packages/meteor-env-dev/env.js
+++ b/packages/meteor-env-dev/env.js
@@ -6,4 +6,6 @@ if (typeof process.env !== "object") {
   process.env = {};
 }
 
-process.env.NODE_ENV = "development";
+if (typeof process.env.NODE_ENV !== "string") {
+  process.env.NODE_ENV = "development";
+}
diff --git a/packages/meteor-env-prod/env.js b/packages/meteor-env-prod/env.js
index 779639feb7..275fb6702f 100644
--- a/packages/meteor-env-prod/env.js
+++ b/packages/meteor-env-prod/env.js
@@ -6,4 +6,6 @@ if (typeof process.env !== "object") {
   process.env = {};
 }
 
-process.env.NODE_ENV = "production";
+if (typeof process.env.NODE_ENV !== "string") {
+  process.env.NODE_ENV = "production";
+}