Fighting Genetically Engineered Sugar Beets
Center for Food Safety successfully challenged USDA's approval of Monsanto's Roundup Ready sugar beets, forcing the agency to conduct a full environmental review of risks to farmers, related crops, and the environment.
Case Overview (Center for Food Safety v. Vilsack)
In Center for Food Safety v. Vilsack, Center for Food Safety and allied organizations sued against USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in 2008, alleging APHIS failed to adequately assess the environmental, health, and associated economic impacts of allowing “Roundup Ready” sugar beets to be commercially grown without restriction, and that the agency violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by approving the crop without preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
In the filing, we raised concerns about genetic contamination of table beets, Swiss chard, and seed crops along with increased glyphosate use and the spread of herbicide-resistant weeds.
In 2010, a federal court ruled in favor of CFS, finding that USDA violated NEPA when it failed to prepare an EIS before deregulating GE sugar beets engineered to resist glyphosate. The crop was banned until USDA completed a full analysis of the impacts of the GE plant on the environment, farmers and the public.
Two years later, USDA issued its Environmental Impact Statement on GE sugar beets, illustrating the crop’s potential to contaminate organic table beets and Swiss chard, and highlighting the ever increasing threats from glyphosate resistant weeds.
The case became a landmark victory for oversight of genetically engineered crops and farmer protections.
Why This Case Matters
The litigation reaffirmed the precedent established in our alfalfa case that federal agencies must fully evaluate the environmental and economic impacts of genetically engineered crops before approving them for widespread planting.
The case also highlighted the risks of genetic contamination, increased herbicide dependence, and threats to organic and conventional farming systems resulting from genetically modified crops.
Key Issues with GE Sugar Beets
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ugar beets can cross-pollinate with related crops, including table beets and Swiss chard. Commercialization of the crop could contaminate organic and conventional seed supplies. Contamination also reduces the ability of conventional farmers to decide what to grow, and limits consumer choice of the foods they can eat.
Sugar beet seed is grown primarily in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, which is also an important seed growing area for crops closely related to sugar beets, such as organic chard and table beets. GE sugar beets are wind pollinated and will inevitably cross-pollinate the related crops being grown in the same area. Such biological contamination is devastating to organic farmers, who face debilitating market losses if their crops are contaminated by a GE variety.
Because Roundup Ready sugar beets are engineered to tolerate glyphosate, expanded use would accelerate the development of herbicide-resistant weeds and increase pesticide application.
