Biotech row heads to top US court

Fourteen years after commercialisation of the world's first biotech crop, United States regulatory agencies charged with overseeing biotech crops are under attack.

The US Department of Agriculture is most directly in the line of fire after a string of federal court decisions found its officials acted illegally or carelessly in approving some biotech crops.

But the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Food and Drug Administration also face criticism.

In one recent case, a federal court banned the sale of a herbicide-tolerant alfalfa engineered by Monsanto until the government more thoroughly evaluates its safety.

US District Court Judge Charles Breyer ruled that the USDA violated federal law in allowing unrestricted commercial planting of "Roundup Ready" alfalfa - a key livestock fodder - without a solid review.

Breyer ordered the USDA to prepare an environmental impact statement that explores potential negative consequences that critics say could include contamination of non-GMO alfalfa fields.

The spread of herbicide-tolerant weeds is also a concern and is a mounting problem that has been reported in many key farming areas.

Monsanto has appealed the ruling and the US Supreme Court will hear the case this week , marking the first time the high court has taken up biotech crop concerns.

In a similar case, a federal court found that sugarbeets altered to be "Roundup Ready" were approved without adequate USDA evaluation.

US District Court Judge Jeffrey White said the government's decision to deregulate Roundup Ready sugar beets "may significantly affect the environment" and he encouraged growers to "take all efforts, going forward, to use conventional seed".

Judge White declined to immediately ban all GMO sugarbeet plantings, but said he would consider a permanent injunction at a hearing on July 9.

Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Centre for Food Safety, which filed the sugarbeet lawsuit, said the court actions should be a "wakeup call" for the US government.

"They will not be allowed to ignore the biological pollution and economic impacts of gene-altered crops," he said. "The courts have made it clear that USDA's job is to protect America's farmers and consumers, not the interests of Monsanto."