DAVID VERSUS GOLIATH - Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America - page 159

The USDA approved Monsanto's Roundup Ready sugar beet in 2005 after determining that cultivation
poses no risks to other plants, animals, or the environment. 49 In 2008 CFS and the Sierra Club challenged
the approval in court on grounds that the USDA's EA ignored important environmental and economic im-
pacts. Even though a U.S. District Court directed the USDA to develop a more in-depth EIS in 2009, the
USDA allowed several seed companies to begin cultivation. The court intervened, ordering Monsanto to
dig up 256 acres of GE sugar beet plantings pending completion of the environmental review. However,
the USDA finalized the EIS in 2012 and approved cultivation of the GE sugar beet.
This will mean that the vast majority of manufacturers that use beet sugar, especially the candy industry,
will be using a GE product. The fact that familiar brand names like Hershey's will contain GE sugar is
helping to build the momentum and political pressure to label genetically engineered food.
The movement to label is also being strengthened by the ongoing debate over genetically engineered
alfalfa, an important animal food crop. The USDA first approved Monsanto's Roundup Ready alfalfa in
2005. In 2007, CFS and a number of organic alfalfa producers challenged the USDA approval on grounds
that GE alfalfa could contaminate and wipe out non-GE alfalfa. Because this poses special risks for organic
alfalfa and for dairy farms whose crops may be contaminated by GE alfalfa, a California district court ruled
for a prohibition on GE alfalfa sales and plantings until the USDA performed an EIS. 50 The USDA's 2010
EIS demonstrated the potential negative economic impacts for organic and conventional alfalfa farmers,
including increased costs needed to prevent contamination, reduced demand, and lost markets due to con-
tamination. 51 Nonetheless, in January 2011 the USDA decided to approve GE alfalfa without any planting
restrictions. 52
Spector says of the CFS lawsuit: “Our legal action was successful because it prevented commercial-
ization of GE alfalfa for five years. We are hopeful that the new legal action will be successful, because
biological pollution cannot be recalled. Contamination of non-GE crops violates the rights of the vast ma-
jority of alfalfa farmers, who do not grow GE alfalfa. We need to protect their rights and the integrity of
the food products produced by animals eating alfalfa.”
Alfalfa is an open-pollinated crop, meaning that wind or insects can pollinate and contaminate conven-
tional alfalfa fields. It is well documented that a farmer's field can be inadvertently contaminated with GE
material through cross-pollination and seed dispersal. A Union of Concerned Scientists study found that
50 percent of non-GE corn and soybean and 83 percent of non-GE canola seeds in the United States were
contaminated with low levels of GE residue. Even Monsanto admits that “a certain amount of incidental,
trace level pollen movement occurs.” 53
Yet farmers who unintentionally grow GE-patented seeds or who harvest crops that are cross-pollinated
with GE traits could face costly lawsuits by biotechnology firms for “seed piracy.” Making the situation
worse, farmers who grow GE crops are not required to plant non-GE buffer zones to prevent contamination
unless this is stipulated in the farm's USDA permit. Yet even the use of buffer zones has proven ineffective
because these areas are usually not large enough to prevent contamination. 54
The USDA prohibits the use of GE crops in any product that carries the agency's “certified organic”
label. Certified organic farmers can face significant economic hardship if biotech traits contaminate their
organic crops or organic livestock feed. Such contamination can occur either when GE seeds are inadvert-
ently mixed with non-GE seeds during storage or distribution or when GE crops cross-pollinate non-GE
crops. 55
The USDA's approval of Roundup Ready alfalfa in 2010 highlights the significant ramifications that
contamination can have for organic producers. Alfalfa is the most important feed crop for dairy cows, yet
GE alfalfa can easily cross-pollinate organic alfalfa crops and cause organic farmers to lose their markets
if testing reveals contamination. Meanwhile, conventional alfalfa farmers could face seed piracy suits from