“A federal court has ruled that the Bush USDA’s approval of genetically engineered (GE) ‘RoundUp Ready’ sugar beets was unlawful. The Court ordered the USDA to conduct a rigorous assessment of the environmental and economic impacts of the crops on farmers and the environment. . . .

“‘This court decision is a wakeup call for the Obama USDA that they will not be allowed to ignore the biological pollution and economic impacts of gene altered crops,’ stated Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of the Center for Food Safety. ‘The Courts have made it clear that USDA’s job is to protect America’s farmers and consumers, not the interests of Monsanto.’

“The full story can be viewed here

As if that weren’t bad enough, the impact of genetic modification on the environment and the pocketbooks of the farmers and consumers continues to escalate. “Based on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), report author Dr. Charles Benbrook [“Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use in the United States: The First Thirteen Years”] presents compelling evidence linking the increase in pesticide use on GE, ‘herbicide tolerant’ crops to the emergence and spread of herbicide-resistant weeds. This report comes at a time when biotech seed prices are drastically rising and increasingly resistant to weeds. . . . The need to make additional herbicide applications in an effort to keep up with resistant weeds is also increasing cash production costs.

“‘The drastic increase in pesticide use with genetically engineered crops is due primarily to the rapid emergence of weeds resistance to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide,’ said Dr. Charles Benbrook, chief scientist of The Organic Center.”

From The Cultivator, news magazine of The Cornucopia Institute, November/December 2009, pgs. 6-7.