22/03/2011image expired

The US Department of Agriculture is facing a lawsuit over its authorisation of Monsanto’s GM alfalfa in the USA. The legal action is backed by a diverse range of plaintiffs, including the California Farmers Union and the National Family Farm Coalition.

The Center for Food Safety and non-profit environmental law firm Earthjustice have filed the lawsuit against the USDA over their recent approval of GM alfalfa. In a press release, Earthjustice announced that, “USDA data show that 93% of all the alfalfa planted by farmers in the U.S. is grown without the use of any herbicides.  With the full deregulation of GE alfalfa, USDA estimates that up to 23 million more pounds of toxic herbicides will be released into the environment each year.”

Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of the Center for Food Safety, said, “USDA has once again failed to provide adequate oversight of a biotech crop. This reckless approval flies in the face of overwhelming evidence that GE alfalfa threatens the rights of farmers and consumers, as well as significant harm to the environment. APHIS has refused to apply and enforce the law and instead has chosen to bow to the wishes of the biotech industry.”

GM detractors see alfalfa as particularly worrisome for several reasons. As a major feed crop, the prevalence of GM alfalfa would present problems for the organic dairy industry; it has a much higher risk of cross-contamination than other GM crops which means securing uncontaminated feed for livestock would become extremely difficult.

In a statement issued Friday (18^th March), Monsanto said, "We are aware that CFS has filed yet another lawsuit, and we will be reviewing allegations. In late January, the USDA authorized planting of Roundup Ready alfalfa after preparing an extensive Environmental Impact Statement, providing several public comment opportunities and determining that Roundup Ready alfalfa is as safe as conventional alfalfa."

Many are drawing parallels between this latest controversy and that sparked by a ruling on GM sugar beet last September, when U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White ruled that USDA had illegally approved Monsanto’s sugar beets and banned future plantings.

GM Alfalfa’s chequered past

The ‘deregulation’ of GM alfalfa has long been a hotly contested issue in the US. Although it was initially approved for commercial growing in 2005, the Center for Food Safety successfully challenged the USDA’s authorisation of GM alfalfa. The Center claimed regulators had not performed adequate environmental reviews; the claim was backed by a federal judge, who banned further planting. However, Monsanto took the case to the Supreme Court, which lifted the ban last year on the condition that the USDA carry out an environmental impact statement.

Upon completion of the statement in December, the USDA announced it would deregulate the modified alfalfa for commercial growing. Nevertheless, critics have pointed out that the impact statement cites evidence of cross-contamination. Seed scientists have since confirmed that more contamination is inevitable.