MONSANTO is notching it up as a victory, but whether an end to the ban on the firm’s genetically modified alfalfa will actually lead to the seeds being sold is unclear.
In 2007, organic farmers sued Monsanto, winning an injunction that prevented the firm selling its “Roundup Ready alfalfa”. The farmers argued the alfalfa had not been properly checked by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its environmental impact.
A court was ‘unjustified’ in banning Roundup Ready alfalfa, but the seeds must still be investigated
Monsanto appealed, and on Monday the Supreme Court ruled that the lower court had been “unjustified” in imposing its ban. However, it also ruled that the USDA had broken the law by allowing the seeds to be sold in 2005 in the first place. This means the GM alfalfa cannot be sold until the USDA carries out an impact assessment. “That could take years,” says John Bianchi, a spokesman for the Center for Food Safety in Washington DC, which is representing the farmers.