A judge has recused herself from a lawsuit over the commercialization of genetically engineered alfalfa due to a financial stake in the controversy.

In her recusal order, U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte cited federal rules that disqualify judges from presiding over cases in which they, their spouse, or a minor child have a financial interest in the subject matter.

The case has been reassigned to Senior District Judge Samuel Conti, 89, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Richard Nixon in 1970.

The biotech alfalfa, which is resistant to glyphosate herbicides, was developed by the Monsanto Co. and licensed to Forage Genetics International, a subsidiary of the Land O'Lakes farmers' cooperative.

The Center for Food Safety environmentalist group filed the complaint against USDA in March, alleging the agency violated environmental law when it fully deregulated biotech alfalfa earlier this year.

The group had asked for the case to be presided over by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who had found in a previous lawsuit that the crop was unlawfully commercialized.

However, Breyer ruled last month that the cases were unrelated and ordered that the new lawsuit should not be assigned to him.

-- Mateusz Perkowski