LISTSERV - IOWA-TOPICS Archives - LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG

MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Approved-By:  [log in to unmask]
Message-ID:  <[log in to unmask]>
Date:         Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:13:25 -0400
Reply-To:     Biotech Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Sender:       Biotech Forum <[log in to unmask]>
From:         Laurel Hopwood <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: VICTORY: Federal Court Upholds Ban on GE Alfalfa!!
To:           [log in to unmask]
Precedence: list

Many thanks to Neil Carman, PhD, member of Sierra Club's Genetic
Engineering Action Team, for all the work he put into this!

FEDERAL COURT UPHOLDS BAN ON GENETICALLY-ENGINEERED ALFALFA

Appeals Court Rules Planting of Biotech Crop Can Cause Irreversible
Harm to Organic and Conventional Crops, Farmers, and the Environment

Monsanto's Petition to Rehear Denied in Full

San Francisco, CA - June 24, 2009 - In a decision handed down here
today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has
re-affirmed its previous decision upholding a nationwide ban on the
planting of genetically-engineered (GE) Roundup Ready alfalfa pending
a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).  The Court determined
that the planting of genetically modified alfalfa can result in
potentially irreversible harm to organic and conventional varieties of
crops, damage to the environment, and economic harm to farmers.

Although the suit was brought against United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA), Monsanto Company and Forage Genetics entered into
the suit as Defendant-Intervenors.  In September 2008 the Ninth
Circuit affirmed the lower court's ruling, but the Intervenors
continued to press the appeal alone, requesting the appellate court to
rehear the case.  Today's decision denied that request and re-affirmed
the earlier decision in full.

"This ruling affirms a major victory for consumers, ranchers, organic
farmers, and most conventional farmers across the country," said
Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of the Center for Food Safety.
"Roundup Ready Alfalfa represents a very real threat to farmers'
livelihoods and the environment; the court rightly dismissed
Monsanto's claims that their bottom line should come before the rights
of the public and America's farmers.  This ruling is a turning point
in the regulation of biotech crops in this country."

Today's decision again upholds District Court Judge Charles Breyer's
earlier ruling of May 2007, in which he found that the USDA failed to
address concerns that Roundup Ready alfalfa will contaminate
conventional and organic alfalfa.  The Ninth Circuit decision affirms
that USDA violated national environmental laws by approving GE alfalfa
without a full Environmental Impact Statement.

The Center for Food Safety represented itself and the following
co-plaintiffs in the suit: Western Organization of Resource Councils,
National Family Farm Coalition, Sierra Club, Beyond Pesticides,
Cornucopia Institute, Dakota Resource Council, Trask Family Seeds, and
Geertson Seed Farms.  For more information, please visit
www.centerforfoodsafety.org .

#  #  #

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2009/06/24/07-16458.pdf

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see:
 http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]

Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information:
http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp