Sugar Industry Biotech Council

August 13, 2010

Today, August 13, 2010, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California held a hearing in the Roundup Ready sugar beet litigation. The court is considering how the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Monsanto v. Geertson Seed impacts the future planting of Roundup Ready sugar beets. The court did not immediately issue a ruling, but took the matter under submission. The Sugar Industry Biotech Council cannot speculate as to how or when the court will rule. 

June 21, 2010

The U.S. Supreme Court, in its first decision involving biotech crops, overturned a lower court’s order that has prohibited farmers from planting biotech alfalfa in a 7-1 vote. This ruling could allow the U.S. Department of Agriculture to permit interim planting of the crop while it completes an environmental study.

We are pleased with this significant ruling and how it might inform the biotech sugar beet process as we prepare for the next phase of the biotech sugar beet court proceedings. The biotech alfalfa ruling focuses on and clarifies the process of biotech approvals. Importantly, the Supreme Court’s ruling on biotech alfalfa does not presume that an injunction on planting biotech crops would be automatically issued if a biotech approval is challenged.

The next biotech sugar beet hearing is scheduled for August 13, 2010.

March 16, 2010

U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White has denied the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction that would have prohibited planting of the biotech sugar beets that growers planted on 95 percent of their acreage last year.

We are pleased that the court denied the request and recognized the significant negative impact that an immediate ban on planting would have caused to growers, processors, rural communities and the U.S. sugar supply. This decision allows sugar beet growers to proceed with planting this year’s crop.

We look forward to the next phase of the court proceedings where we can present evidence about potential choices for our growers and processors.

March 5, 2010

On March 5, 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White conducted a hearing on the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction.  The judge took the matter under advisement and will issue his decision at a future time.

December 8, 2009

On December 4, 2009, Judge Jeffrey White decided how his court will proceed with the next phase of litigation concerning the approval of Roundup Ready sugar beets.

The Sugar Industry Biotech Council is pleased that Judge White has allowed a settlement conference with a U.S. magistrate no later than Feb. 4, 2010. Additionally, we are encouraged that the court has allowed limited discovery, which will provide an opportunity to obtain interviews and documentation from the plaintiffs.

Judge White scheduled filing of briefs on remedies between March and April, and plans to hear oral arguments on June 11, 2010. It is not certain at this point whether or not a full evidentiary hearing will be scheduled.

September 23, 2009

On September 21, 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will have to complete an Environmental Impact Statement for Roundup Ready sugar beets.  This is a procedural decision, in which the court concluded USDA needs to show a more thorough review process than was documented in the deregulation process the agency completed in 2005.

While the Sugar Industry Biotech Council is disappointed by the outcome, we look forward to the next phase of the proceedings and the opportunity for growers, processors and seed producers to advocate the need for this technology and vigorously defend farmers’ freedom to plant Roundup Ready sugar beets.

This ruling found no issue with the safety or benefits of Roundup Ready sugar beets.  The sugar from biotech sugar beets is the same as from conventional sugarbeets and sugarcane, and is widely accepted in the United States and worldwide markets.

Farmers in the United States and Canada are choosing to plant Roundup Ready sugar beets on 95 percent of the acreage because of the environmental and economic benefits they bring to farming operations.

Updated October 29, 2009

The court plans an initial scheduling conference on December 4, 2009, at which time the parties will learn more about how the judge plans to proceed with the next phase of the case and the timing for future court activities.

January 28, 2008

The Sugar Industry Biotech Council and its members are thoroughly committed to the safety and stewardship of crops improved through biotechnology. Roundup Ready sugar beets offer significant economic benefits to growers and the sugar industry along with well-established environmental benefits.

Sugar beets are an important crop, planted on nearly 1.3 million acres in the United States annually. Sugar beets increase geographic diversity in sugar production; the 2007 crop in the U.S. produced 31.6 million tons. Sugar beets improved through biotechnology produce sugar that is identical at the molecular level to sugar produced from sugar cane and other sugar beets.

Weed control is one of the greatest challenges for sugar beet growers. The use of Roundup Ready sugar beets results in improved weed control and substantially benefits farm families and cooperatives. The economic impact of this crop is significant as more than 31,000 people are employed in growing, harvesting and processing sugar beets.

The value of sugar beet crops and their products is critically important to rural communities and their economies. The industry contributes billions of dollars to the economy every year, primarily in the states of Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wyoming.

Roundup Ready sugar beets have been approved for production in the United States and Canada since 2005, and sugar beet seed producers, farmers and the related industry have been planning and moving forward in reliance on that approval. In addition, food and feed products derived from Roundup Ready sugar beets have been approved by numerous regulatory agencies around the world – including the European Union and Japan – affirming the safety of the production and consumption of commodities derived from Roundup Ready sugar beets.

Roundup Ready sugar beets allow farmers to control weeds in a more environmentally sustainable way. By reducing the number of trips across the field, Roundup Ready sugar beets also have the potential to save nearly 1.7 million gallons of fuel each year and reduce the associated emissions of greenhouse gases. Using Roundup Ready technology, sugar beet farmers will finally be able to adopt reduced tillage farming practices, which have been shown to greatly reduce soil erosion.