District Court Orders Re-Regulation of Genetically Engineered Sugar Beets
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on August 13, 2010, granted a request by opponents of genetically engineered (GE) crops to vacate the deregulation of genetically engineered sugar beets by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, as the agency did not conduct an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) beforehand. The court denied the petitioner’s request for a permanent injunction.
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Court had Earlier Ruled Deregulation was Invalid without EIS
In January 2008, the Center for Food Safety and 3 other organizations opposed to GE seeds sued APHIS over the 2005 deregulation of GE sugar beets. Monsanto and multiple sugar producers and beet farming groups joined the government as defendant-intervenors. In September 2009, the district court ruled that APHIS’ deregulation decision without conducting an EIS was invalid.
(In response to a petition to deregulate “Round-up ready” (RR) genetically engineered sugar beets, APHIS determined that an Environmental Assessment (EA) met the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and that an EIS was not necessary. Based on the EA, APHIS found that RR sugar beets did not pose a plant pest risk, and ended restrictions on them in 2005.1)
APHIS’ Deregulation Action Now Vacated
The court has now determined to vacate APHIS’s 2005 deregulation action, rather than remand the matter to the agency with an order to bring its action into conformity with NEPA. The court faulted APHIS for failing to fully consider the potential consequences of deregulating GE sugar beets, for not taking the regulatory process seriously, for viewing the comprehensive environmental review as a mere formality, and for not taking interim measures after its 2009 decision.
Order Restoring Regulated Status Applies to Future Plantings
The order restoring regulated status applies to all future plantings and does not apply to GE sugar beet root and seed crops planted before August 13, 2010. The court explained that such crops may be harvested and processed. The GE sugar beet root crop that has already been planted may be processed and sold as sugar. The GE sugar beet seed crop that has already been planted may be harvested and stored.
Recent Supreme Court Decision on GE Alfalfa Gave Guidance
The court’s order takes note of the June 21, 2010 Supreme Court decision on “Round-up Ready” (RR) alfalfa, which upheld the power of district courts to enjoin APHIS from deregulating GE crops, but discouraged the issuance of permanent injunctions. The high court in that case reversed the decision of an appeals court approving a nationwide injunction on planting of RR Alfalfa prior to the completion of an EIS, but suggested instead that “limited deregulation would not pose any appreciable risk of environmental harm.”
APHIS Estimates EIS Will be Final in April 2012
In June 2010, APHIS stated that it has been unable to undertake the EIS for RR sugar beets while completing the EIS for RR Alfalfa, for which it is “preparing to develop the final EIS.” With hearings, comment periods, evaluation and analysis stages to complete, APHIS predicts the RR sugar beet EIS “could be completed by April 30, 2012.”
95% of U.S. Sugar Beet Acres now use GE Varieties
After RR sugar beets were deregulated in 2005 and approved to be grown for food and feed, they have been widely commercialized in the U.S. In June 2010, APHIS stated that for the 2009/10 crop year, RR varieties accounted for about 95 percent of planted area, up from about 60 percent in 2008/09.
RR sugar beets have been approved for feed, food, and cultivation in Canada and Japan. RR sugar beets have been approved for feed and food use in the European Union, Mexico, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Columbia, Russia, China, Singapore, and the Philippines.
1In March 2005, APHIS made a determination that the sugar beet line Monsanto/KWS SAAT AG, designated as event H7-1, was no longer a regulated article under agency regulations governing the introduction of GE organisms. The sugar beets were genetically engineered to be tolerant to the Monsanto herbicide glyphosate, also known as Roundup®, making them Roundup Ready® (RR) sugar beets.
APHIS June 2010 Factsheet: “Questions and Answers: Environmental Impact Statement on GE Sugar Beets” available here.