Ban against genetically-engineered alfalfa upheld by appeals court

Citing environmental risk to organic and non-organic crops, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (CA) rejected Monsanto’s request for appeal regarding the sale of genetically-modified alfalfa, re-affirming a prior decision.
 
The case, Geertson Seed Farms et al v. Mike Johanns as Secretary of the USDA, began in 2006 when Geertson sued the USDA to rescind its approval until thorough environmental assessments of GM seeds were conducted. Monsanto entered the suit as a defendant-intervener filing an appeal for the court to reconsider the prior ruling.
 
“This ruling affirms a major victory for consumers, ranchers, organic farmers, and most conventional farmers across the country,” said Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of the Center for Food Safety. “Roundup Ready Alfalfa represents a very real threat to farmers’ livelihoods and the environment; the court rightly dismissed Monsanto’s claims that their bottom line should come before the rights of the public and America’s farmers. This ruling is a turning point in the regulation of biotech crops in this country.”