2009-09-23 | permalink

U.S. District Judge declares approval of Monsanto’s GE sugar beets as illegal

The government illegally approved a genetically modified, herbicide-resistant strain of sugar beets without adequately considering the chance they will contaminate other beet crops, a federal judge in San Francisco has ruled. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White rejected the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision in 2005 to allow Monsanto Co. to sell the sugar beets, known as ”Roundup-Ready” because they are engineered to coexist with Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide.

• San Francisco Chronicle, USA: Court rejects genetically modified sugar beets
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch, USA: Monsanto’s GM sugar beets to get closer scrutiny
• The New York Times, USA: Judge rejects approval of biotech sugar beets
• The Wall Stree Journal, USA: Judge nixes altered beets
• The Associated Press, USA: Judge overturns approval of Roundup Ready beets
• Reuters, UK: US court rules against Monsanto’s GMO sugarbeets
• Common Dreams, USA: Government failed to evaluate environmental and economic risks of Monsanto product
• Seed Alliance, USA: Judge White’s decision: USDA-APHIS violated National Environmental Policy Act in deregulation of RR sugarbeets