Editorial

Last week a federal judge ruled that the USDA violated environmental law when it failed to perform an environmental impact statement before approving Monsanto's Roundup Ready sugar beets for unrestricted commercial use.

Ruling in the district of Northern California, Judge Jeffrey White said the USDA's environmental assessment, a far less stringent evaluation, failed to take into thorough consideration the impacts of the possible unintended transmission of the genetically engineered gene to non-GMO sugar beets, Swiss chard, table beets and other similar crops. It also failed, he said, to find if isolation distances used by seed growers to guard against unwanted cross pollination were actually followed.

Before Roundup Ready sugar beets can be deregulated and used commercially, the USDA must perform an environmental impact statement.

So what happens to about a million acres of Roundup Ready sugar beets now being harvested in Idaho, California and nine other states, and the seed crop already in the ground in Oregon's Willamette Valley? White has set a hearing Oct. 30 to begin formulating a remedy that will determine the fate of both crops.

The Center for Food Safety and the other plaintiffs in the case say they'll request an injunction banning new plantings until the EIS is performed.

According to the American Sugarbeet Growers Association, 95 percent of the current crop was planted with Roundup Ready seed. Nearly all of the sugar beet seed crop is planted in the Willamette Valley, and the association believes a similar percentage is devoted to Roundup Ready varieties. The seed crop now in the ground won't be harvested until next August.

If the association's estimates are true, the injunction sought by plaintiffs could effectively end domestic production of sugar beets for at least two seasons.

We hope White takes a more practical course.

When it approved Roundup Ready alfalfa, the USDA also relied on an environmental assessment. In a lawsuit challenging that approval, a judge found an EIS was required and put restrictions on the use of the modified seed, allowing current plantings to be cut and used while banning further plantings. Nearly two years later, the EIS has not been completed.

To the extent conventional seed is unavailable, White should allow Roundup Ready sugar beet seeds already in stock to be planted next year. Because the beets are harvested before they go to seed, it is unlikely this crop will affect other crops. However, the judge should place reasonable restrictions on plantings to address the legitimate concerns of growers who raise similar organic or conventional varieties.

In ruling on the seed crop now in the ground, White should consider the availability of conventional seed stock for the 2011 crop. Again, reasonable restrictions on the current seed crop should be instituted to guard against cross pollination with other crops.

A good many farmers acted in good faith in adopting a crop approved by the U.S. government for commercial use. They should not be forced out of business because the government erred.