Both sides are claiming victory in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling about an injunction against growing Roundup Ready alfalfa.In a 7-1 decision, the court overturned a lower court injunction that had prohibited the planting of Monsanto’s genetically modified alfalfa.Monsanto sees the decision as a reaffirmation that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, rather than the courts, has the power to approve GM crops.However, the Center for Food Safety, which took the USDA to task for circumventing environmental regulations in its approval of RR alfalfa, said the ruling is far from a complete victory for Monsanto.It said the Supreme Court simply ruled that the injunction was overkill because the lower court had already voided the USDA’s decision to deregulate the crop, sending it back into the regulator’s hands for further analysis.The result is that the planting of Roundup Ready alfalfa is still banned in the U.S. until the USDA completes a court-ordered environmental impact statement. A final statement isn’t expected until next spring.“Monsanto is still prohibited from selling and planting its Roundup Ready GM alfalfa,” the centre said in a news release.The group said the Supreme Court also ruled that the threat of GM contamination was a sufficient cause of environmental and economic harm to support future challenges.Monsanto Canada spokesperson Trish Jordan said environmental groups are trying to confuse the issue. She said the meaningful aspect of the ruling is that the highest court in the United States said only government regulators have the power to approve or reject GM crops.The National Farmers Union said the ruling has significant implications for Canadian farmers.“The U.S. ruling makes Canadian GM alfalfa commercialization less likely,” it said in a news release.Jordan said that is nonsense.“It’s a ridiculous assertion. What the U.S. Supreme Court decides has absolutely zero bearing whatsoever on the Canadian marketplace.”Roundup Ready alfalfa has received full regulatory approval in Canada, and Monsanto will file a label submission this summer seeking approval to apply its Roundup herbicide on Roundup Ready crops. A decision is expected to follow in 18 to 24 months.However, the final decision to introduce the crop in Canada is up to Forage Genetics International, Monsanto’s commercialization partner. Jordan said the company has publicly stated it will not proceed in Canada until the U.S. situation is resolved.That resolution could come earlier than spring if the USDA puts in place an interim measure allowing growers to plant the crop while the environmental impact statement is completed. Jordan said a draft version of the statement determined that the crop should be deregulated.If Forage Genetics decides to commercialize the crop in Canada, it will first have to select a suitable Canadian variety in which to introduce the trait and then build up seed supplies of that variety.“You’re looking at likely at least a minimum of two years,” Jordan said.The NFU maintains that the introduction of GM alfalfa would make it difficult for some farmers to continue in organic crop and livestock production, contaminate alfalfa-based food including beef and milk and significantly affect the environment.Jordan said the NFU’s concerns boil down to coexistence issues, which have been addressed in regulatory reviews conducted in Canada and the U.S.“The organic industry has grown right alongside the biotech industry, so clearly the two can coexist.”
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