The case, Center for Food Safety, et al. v. Vilsack, was brought by environmental groups who opposed the planting of genetically modified (GM) sugar beets and argued that the crops should not have gained approval because an environmental impact statement had not been completed by USDA. In August, Judge White revoked USDA's approval of GM sugar beets until an environmental impact statement could be completed, which could take about two years.
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) responded with plans to issue permits to seed producers under strict conditions such as not allowing the plant to flower. Consequently, the environmental groups, again, filed a lawsuit against USDA in which Judge White ruled that USDA acted illegally in allowing the planting of GM sugar beets.
Most recently, Judge White "asked the government to provide plaintiffs with unredacted copies of permits the USDA issued to agricultural companies producing the altered beet seeds" and to "provide information to him about the acreage that has been planted with the genetically modified seeds."
GM sugar beets "currently account for 95% of the U.S. sugar crop" and USDA predicts that if farmers cannot plant GM beet seeds, sugar production will fall by about 20 percent.
To read the Dow Jones Newswires story, click here.
Posted: 10/25/2010
