The Supreme Court is considering overturning a court order that has blocked Monsanto Co. from selling alfalfa seeds that are genetically modified to resist its Roundup weed killer.
The court in January accepted Monsanto's appeal of a ruling that prevented its Roundup Ready alfalfa from being planted since 2007.
Monsanto filed the petition with the U.S. Supreme Court in October, arguing that the 2007 injunction by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of the Northern District of California should not have been ordered without first conducting an evidentiary hearing.
Before the injunction, Roundup Ready alfalfa was planted by 5,500 growers across 263,000 acres, including hundreds of acres in Nebraska. Alfalfa is the fourth-largest crop grown in the U.S., with 23 million acres grown in 48 U.S. states annually, but only about 1 percent of the crop is Roundup Ready.
Opponents claim that Monsanto's genetically engineered seeds contaminate other crops, and that Roundup Ready traits could promote weeds that have developed a tolerance to weed killer.
In 2006, the Center for Food Safety and others sued USDA for what they called its illegal approval of Monsanto's alfalfa, contending the agency failed to conduct an environmental impact statement, as required by law, before approving the crop.
The federal courts agreed and banned planting of genetically modified alfalfa until USDA assessed its effects in an environmental impact statement.
Monsanto defends its products, saying that cross-pollination is unlikely and that the environment receives a benefit because because less weed killer would be used.
USDA has recommended approval of Monsanto's genetically modified alfalfa.
The matter is scheduled for oral argument by the court on April 27. A decision is expected by June.
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will not take part in the alfalfa case because U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco, who issued the initial ruling against Monsanto, is his brother.
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