Federal Judge Stops Production of Genetically Modified Beets

GM Beet seeds ruled illegal by Federal Judge

A U. S. District federal judge has revoked a previous government ruling in favor of genetically altered sugar beets until regulators thoroughly review the effects of GM crops on other foods. Judge Jeffrey S. White ruled that sugar beet growers cannot use the GM seeds from over 1 million acres of biotechnology beets that have been planted across the western half of the United States this year. These scientific seeds make up over 95% of the current sugar beet crop. The judges ruling will greatly disrupt sugar production as over 50% of sugar manufactured in this country come from sugar beets.

Organic and natural beet farmers have complained that genetically altered plants cross breed and share genes, thus making it difficult to maintain natural organic seeds when grown near Monsanto’s genetically altered crops. As a matter of fact, Monsanto has been known to sue organic and natural farmers when their seeds naturally cross-breed with Monsanto’s patented GM seeds, thus causing the farmers to have to destroy their contaminated seeds or risk being run out of business by the giant corporation.

The altered beet crops in question were approved by the Department of Agriculture without proper environmental review. Judge White took all this into account when he made his 10 page ruling. GM beet planting will be restricted until the U.S. Department of Agriculture submits an environmental impact statement, which can take up to two or three years. He did not make a permanent injunction against the GM crop, however. The Center for Food Safety, Organic Seed Alliance and Sierra Club are working together to stop the biotech beets from being utilized. Together they filed a lawsuit in 2008.

Andrew Kimbrell, the Center for Food Safety’s executive director, called Friday’s ruling a major victory for environmentalists.

“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,” Kimbrell said in a statement.

The sugar beet council released a statement saying it intends to help the Agriculture Department come up with “interim measures” that would allow continued production of the GM seeds while regulators conduct their environmental review. They claim that this ruling will significantly impact domestic sugar production. Judge White wrote, in his ruling that the Agriculture Department “has already had more than sufficient time to take interim measures, but failed to act expediently.”