Judge takes RR sugar beet arguments under advisement
Monday March 08 2010
Sugar beet growers still don't know whether they will be able to plant Roundup Ready beets this spring, as U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White simply took under advisement the plaintiffs' request for an immediate halt to the use of RR beets at Friday's hearing, in San Francisco (see FCN Feb. 1, Page 5).
Last September Judge White ruled that USDA had failed to adequately assess the environmental impact of biotech sugar beets before allowing commercialization of the crop in 2005. A hearing has been scheduled for June on the main issues of the case, when the court will decide whether RR sugar beets should be banned until completion of an Environmental Impact Statement, which could take two to three years.
