Farmers And Food Safety Watchdog Groups Sue USDA Over Approval Of GE Alfalfa

Food safety watchdog organizations and a coalition of farmers, dairies, agricultural associations, and environmental and consumer groups have filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the legality of the USDA’s unrestricted approval of Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa. The GE crop is engineered to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosate, marketed by Monsanto as Roundup. Lawyers for the plaintiffs argue that GE alfalfa will greatly increase use of toxic chemicals in the U.S., will threaten the organic dairy industry and will force farmers to buy Monsanto’s its patented seed and Roundup product every year. With 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.