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.