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Sweet ruling for GM beets

Posted for Rex Dalton

Planting of genetically modified sugar beets can go forward in the United States this spring after a March 16 federal court ruling. But attorneys for organic farmers seeking to block the GM-seed planting say the judge’s ruling suggests new restrictions on such seeds might come later.

Judge Jeffrey White in US District Court in San Francisco this week denied the request for a preliminary injunction on planting the seeds, but said a permanent injunction will be considered in future legal proceedings.

About 95 percent of the nearly half-million hectares of US sugar beets are from GM seeds; sugar beets are the source of about half of all US sugar.

Last September, attorneys for Earthjustice of Oakland, California, and the Center for Food Safety in Washington, DC, won a ruling from the San Francisco federal court that in 2005 US authorities had improperly approved GM sugar beet seeds for sale. The earlier environmental review was faulted, ruled the court. This triggered a new environmental review by the US Department of Food and Agriculture.


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The attorneys for the coalition of organic sugar beet growers then sought the preliminary injunction to halt spring planting. The court case arose from organic vegetable seed growers near Philomath, Oregon, concerned about contamination of their crops by nearby GM sugar beet seed growers.

In his ruling this week, the judge wrote: “The parties should not assume the court’s decision to deny a preliminary injunction is indicative of its review on a permanent injunction pending the full environmental review that [USDA] is required to do. While the environmental review is pending, the court is inclined to order the [defendants] to take all efforts to use [non-GM] seed.”

Earthjustice attorney Paul Achitoff says his organization was “encouraged” by the ruling. “We will ask the court to halt the use of genetically engineered sugar beets and seeds until the federal government does its job to protect consumers and farmers alike.”

In a statement, the Sugar Beet Biotech Council said it was pleased with the judge’s ruling. “We look forward to the next phase of the court proceedings where we can present evidence about the potential choices for our growers and processors.”

The vast majority of sugar beets planted are from seeds modified by Monsanto Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri, to tolerate exposure to its Roundup Ready weed killer.

Comments

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    Anurag chaurasia said:

    Unfortunately Judes are not subject matter experts of GMO. A special Scientific Jurry need to be constituted to handel scientific legel matters.

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    Sharon Wood said:

    I am so disappointed in this ruling. Being a resident of Oregon and an avid farmers market goer, this really hits home for me. If these GM plants cross pollinate with other plants it could run growers out of business. I wish the USDA would do it’s job and the US Government would stop protecting giant corporations like Monsanto.

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    Wine Cellar Cooling Units said:

    Iyeah, I think that it’s a bit disappoing, this ruling for farmers.

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    mutuelle santé said:

    Very interesting post indeed. There has always been this great debate whether genetically modified plants are good or bad. but this does hit hard the farmers community. keep up the good work.

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    Industry Member said:

    Common Sense is lacking in decision making in the agricultural industry, not by farmers, but by un-informed consumers and regulatory groups. The biotechnology companies are not trying to mislead or miscommunicate any information pertaining to their GM crops. If they were, they wouldn’t tell consumers their crops were genetically modified in the first place and save themselves a HUGE headache.

    With a larger world population farming practices from the 50’s CANNOT sustaining the current demand for food. If ending world huger is the goal then farmers have to use these types of products to produce more food on less ground. If “consumer groups” do not let farmers progress at the same speed as the rest of the world, then they better not complain when their dinner tables are barren.

    As for organic producers, they should be pleased that GM foods are available. They have a very nice and profitable niche market created for them, with less competition. The market being those consumers who do not want to eat the GM crops.

    For those worried about their food safty, realize that the food supply is the safest it has EVER been. People are living longer due to progression in all fields, including food production.

    All in all, consumers have more choices thanks to GM crops, and GM crops help keep food prices down as more crops can be produced to meet the demand. Organic producers can market their crops to those people who don’t want GM foods.

    Therefore, think before you voice your opinions. Do your homework, use resources from unbiased, knowledgable sources. Listen to both sides of the story, think about long term situations.

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