Judge’s ruling forces second look at Roundup Ready sugarbeets

By DALE HILDEBRANT, Farm & Ranch Guide

For the second time in two years, a ruling by a U.S. district judge based in San Francisco has thrown a roadblock in the path of ag chemical giant Monsanto.

Back in 2007 Judge Charles Breyer halted the use of Roundup Ready alfalfa seed and on Sept. 21, 2009, Federal Judge Jeffrey White challenged USDA’s approval for Roundup Ready sugarbeets, saying further environmental studies needed to be done.

The ruling was issued even though the sugarbeets have been widely grown in Wyoming since 2007 and in this region since the 2008 growing season.

White found that the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) violated environmental law by failing to take a “hard look” at whether Roundup Ready beets would eventually share their genes with other crops such as chard and table beets.