Court bans planting of genetically modified sugar beets

A federal district court judge issued a ban Friday on future planting of genetically modified sugar beets sold by Monsanto Co.

Roughly one year ago the court ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by approving the biotech crop without first preparing an Environmental Impact Statement. Friday’s ruling prohibited any future planting and sale of the crop, pending the USDA’s compliance with NEPA and all other related laws.

Modified sugar beets that were already planted will be allowed to continue to grow and be harvested under the ruling issues by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White. If, however, the USDA does not complete its Environmental Impact Statement by next spring, producers will not be able to plant the modified seeds. Typically such a report can take between two and three years.

“Time and again, USDA has ignored the law and abdicated its duty to protect the environment and American agriculture from genetically engineered crops designed to sell toxic chemicals. Time and again, citizens speaking truth to power have taken USDA to court and won,” said Paul Achitoff of Earthjustice, lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the case.

According to Bloomberg, sugar futures rose in London in anticipation of limited sugar supplies and demand for imports — the move being a reaction to the total global picture on sugar, of which the U.S. decision is only one part. The modified beets do, however, provide about one-half of the U.S. sugar supply, and there is speculation that there are no longer enough convention seeds available to bridge the gap the ban has produced. Currently, more than 90 percent of all sugar beets planted on 1.2 million acres in the U.S. are genetically modified. They have been on the market since 2005, when the USDA issued approval prior to completing the required Environmental Impact Statement.

“In the short term, at least, we aren’t going to see any disruption in the marketing of this year’s crop,” said Luther Markwart, vice president of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association, a national trade group.

The beets were engineered to be resistant to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, which it sells to farmers along with its patented and modified crops. There is currently debate on whether continued and increased use of the particular herbicide has led to or is leading to “super weeds” that are more difficult to contain and eliminate. Plaintiffs in the case — the Center for Food Safety, Earthjustice, Organic Seed Alliance, the Sierra Club and others — have also argued that use of the crops have led to contamination of non-GMO beet plantings.

According to statistics from the USDA, several thousands of acres in both Minnesota and North Dakota are used to produce the crop.

This marks the second time a court has rescinded USDA’s approval of a biotech crop. The first such crop, Roundup Ready alfalfa, is also illegal to plant, also because a court found that the USDA did not prepare a required Environmental Impact Statement prior to granting approval of the seed. Monsanto took the case involving alfalfa to the U.S. Supreme Court.