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Federal Judge Rules On GM Sugar Beets as Supreme Court Looms in Background

by: dsnodgrass

Fri Mar 19, 2010 at 11:35:31 AM PDT

Two weeks ago, I wrote about a federal hearing which could have ordered a nationwide halt to the planting and use of genetically modified sugar beets while the USDA conducts an environmental impact assessment, potentially affecting half of American sugar supplies. The judge in that case has issued his decision, and it's a mixed bag.

dsnodgrass :: Federal Judge Rules On GM Sugar Beets as Supreme Court Looms in Background

NY Times:

Farmers will be allowed to plant genetically modified sugar beets this year but should be prepared not to use the crop in future seasons, a federal judge in San Francisco ordered yesterday.
The ruling will prevent farmers from being forced to pull beets out of the ground or scramble for new seeds as the growing season begins. The beets have become so entrenched that -- should their planting have been banned -- there would not have been enough conventional seeds for a full crop this year, the court said. The economic losses of an immediate ban could have totaled up to $1.5 billion, it added.

Judge Jeffrey White ruled on a temporary injunction, but he couched the ruling in a presumably intentional and overt glimpse into where he sees this heading, when this ruling is revisited in terms of a permanent injunction.

"The parties should not assume that the court's decision to deny a preliminary injunction is indicative of its views on a permanent injunction," White wrote. Until the U.S. Agriculture Department completes its court-ordered re-evaluation of the beets' environmental effects, White suggested that companies "take all efforts, going forward, to use conventional seed."
This summer, White will consider whether to ban the beets in future seasons, pending the environmental review. And in those considerations, he wrote, "the balance ... may likely shift when the court considers whether to issue permanent injunction."

In essence, the judge appears to be aiming for a compromise position which looks to give farmers, who are growing genetically modified sugar beets, the time frame of a growing season to convert to non-gm crops. While this may portend good things for non-gm farmers, a pending Supreme Court case involving Monsanto (which I've also written about) may have implications broad enough to render the genetically modified sugar beet injunction, ultimately, irrelevant.