Posted on January 15, 2010 by Heather
Monsanto Takes Center for Food Safety Legal Victory to Highest Court
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear a first-time case about the risks of genetically engineered crops. Named Monsanto v. Geertson Seed Farms, No. 09-475, the case before the high court will be yet another step in an ongoing battle waged by the Center for Food Safety to protect consumers and the environment from potentially harmful effects of genetically engineered (GE) crops.
The modified alfalfa seed at the heart of the dispute has been engineered to be immune to Monsanto’s flagship herbicide Roundup. Monsanto intervened in a 2007 federal district court ruling that the Department of Agriculture’s approval of GE alfalfa was illegal. The Center for Food Safety (CFS) filed a 2006 lawsuit on behalf of a coalition of non-profits and farmers who wished to retain the choice to plant non-GE alfalfa. CFS was victorious in this case – in addition CFS has won two appeals by Monsanto in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: in 2008 and again in 2009. Now, upon Monsanto’s insistence, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.
Read more »
Filed under: GE Crops, GE Food, Legal Actions | 4 Comments »
Posted on January 20, 2010 by Heather
Earlier Court Decision Found Federal Approval of GE Sugar Beets to Be Unlawful
Earthjustice and Center for Food Safety announced today that they filed court papers seeking a ban on genetically engineered (GE) sugar beets and sugar beet seeds. The motion was filed in Federal Court on behalf of a coalition of organic seed growers, conservation and food safety groups. It calls for a moratorium to be set in place on all planting, production and use of the seeds and beets until a federal district court can consider further how to remedy the government’s unlawful deregulation of the crop.
The coalition filed the lawsuit charging that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) approved the “Roundup Ready” sugar beets without properly assessing potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts. These impacts include the possibility of genetic contamination of organic and conventional crops, increased weed resistance to Roundup herbicide, limiting of farmers’ options to grow conventional and organic beets, and loss of consumer choice to buy products with sugar not derived from GE beets.
Read more »
Filed under: GE Crops, GE Food, Legal Actions | Leave a Comment »
Posted on January 14, 2010 by Heather
In 2006, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) sued the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its illegal approval of Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready alfalfa. The federal courts sided with CFS and banned GE alfalfa until the USDA fully analyzed the impacts of the plant on the environment, farmers, and the public in a rigorous analysis known as an environmental impact statement (or EIS). USDA released its draft EIS on December 14, 2009. A 60-day comment period is now open until February 16, 2010. This is the first time the USDA has done this type of analysis for any GE crop. Therefore, the final decision will have broad implications for all GE crops.
Read more and tell the USDA you DO care about GE contamination of organics!
Filed under: GE Crops, GE Food, Massive disappointments, Organics, Politics and Policy, Take Action | 6 Comments »
Posted on December 15, 2009 by Heather
Center for Food Safety to lead coalition to protect public, farmers and environment from GE crop hazards
The Center for Food Safety today announced that it will lead a coalition of concerned farmers, consumers and environmentalists to hold USDA accountable in its responsibility to protect all farmers and consumers. The move comes in response to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) release of a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that sets forth its plans to once again allow unlimited, nation-wide commercial planting of genetically-engineered (GE) Roundup Ready alfalfa. USDA plans to move ahead despite increasing evidence that GE alfalfa will threaten the rights of farmers and consumers, as well as damage the environment.
Read more »
Filed under: GE Crops, GE Food, Massive disappointments, Organics, Politics and Policy | 7 Comments »
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear a first-time case about the risks of genetically engineered crops. Named Monsanto v. Geertson Seed Farms, No. 09-475, the case before the high court will be yet another step in an ongoing battle waged by the Center for Food Safety to protect consumers and the environment from potentially harmful effects of genetically engineered (GE) crops.
