Decision on Sugar Beets Imminent

Plaintiffs in a lawsuit concerning genetically engineered sugarbeet seeds will argue March 5 for a preliminary injunction that would block the production or planting of the seeds, and the processing of beets produced by the seeds at least until June, reports Capital Press.

In September, federal Judge Jeffery White ordered USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to produce an environmental impact statement to support its deregulation of seed developer Monsanto’s Roundup Ready seeds.
The suit was filed in January 2008 by the Center for Food Safety, Organic Seed Alliance, Sierra Club and High Mowing Organic Seeds.

Now the court must decide whether, or under what circumstances, the seeds can be used in the meantime. White has scheduled a June hearing for litigants to argue whether the court should place an injunction on the industry’s use of the seeds.

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