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Genetically modified sugar beets struck down by California judge
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A California judge has sided with environmental groups and struck down the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s approval of genetically modified sugar beets.
The "Roundup Ready" beets, which are produced by agricultural company Monsanto, are designed to withstand the company’s herbicide, Roundup. The beets account for nearly half of U.S. sugar supplies.
However, Judge Jeffrey White of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, sided with four seed, food and environmental groups – the Center for Food Safety, Organic Seed Alliance, High Mowing Organic Seeds and the Sierra Club – to prohibit future planting and sales of the engineered beets until the USDA produces an Environmental Impact Statement and comes under full compliance of all laws.
In his order, Judge White argued that rather than focusing on the potential consequences for the environment and consumers, the USDA and Monsanto chose to consider the economic impact on their businesses.
Furthermore, he found that the USDA’s decision to deregulate Roundup Ready sugar beets could "significantly affect the environment," particularly given the likelihood that they "may cross-pollinate with non-genetically engineered sugar beets and related Swiss chard and table beets."
Similarly modified crops have also resulted in an increase in the use of herbicides by farmers, as well as a corresponding rise in herbicide-resistant weeds and the contamination of conventional and organic crops.
This is not the first time a court has rescinded USDA approval of a biotech crop. Previously, it overruled approval of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready alfalfa. Eventually, the case made its way to the Supreme Court which overturned part of the lower court’s ruling. However, the alfalfa remains illegal to plant.
Many hope that this most recent ruling will act as a wake-up call for the USDA. "Hopefully the agency will learn that their mandate is to protect farmers, consumers and the environment and not the bottom line of corporations such as Monsanto," Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety, told Environment News Service.
The ruling has already had an effect on global financial markets. Sugar prices in New York and London rose 0.3 percent for raw sugar and 1 percent for refined, after already experiencing a boost due to drought damage in Russia, floods in Pakistan and dry conditions in Brazil, Bloomberg reports.
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