US Supreme Court Considers Genetically Modified Crops

Case questions whether environmental law has gone too far

27 April 2010

The US Supreme Court will hear arguments involving a genetically modified variety of alfalfa designed to grow even when farmers spray it with a chemical that kills weeds.

For the first time, the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in a case involving genetically modified crops. The crops' safety is not at issue in this case, but their potential economic impact is. The case may have ramifications beyond GM crops.

Alfalfa is the fourth most widely grown crop in the United States. Farmers harvested 8.5 million hectares last year. The case being argued before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 27, involves a genetically modified variety of alfalfa designed by the seed and biotech company Monsanto to grow even when farmers spray it with a chemical that kills weeds. The U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) approved the crop in 2005.

"From what I can see, APHIS really did not do due diligence under these regulations," says Doug Gurian-Sherman of the Union of Concerned Scientists, an environmental group. "It was so far from what it was supposed to be doing."

Pollen contamination

Gurian-Sherman says APHIS should have looked more closely, in particular, at the risk of cross-contamination. Organic alfalfa farmers contend they could lose money if wind-blown pollen from their neighbors' GM alfalfa were to contaminate their crop, because buyers would no longer consider their alfalfa organic.