In genetically altered crops news, a Judge has put a halt to the propagation of sugar beets that have been genetically altered to withstand a dosing of Roundup herbicide. The AP report states:

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White in San Francisco found the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service violated environmental law by failing to take a "hard look" at whether "Roundup Ready" sugar beets would eventually share their genes with other crops.

Noting that pollen from genetically altered sugar beets could be blown by the wind long distances to related crops, such as chard and table beets, the judge ordered the agency to produce an environmental impact statement examining the issue.

I think chemicals are a part of our lives and there is no way to extricate our food system from their use, but I do have to wonder about genetically modifying crops (strike one) so that we can use more chemicals on those crops (strike two), not really knowing the long term consequences to human health and earth impact.(strike three?) I'm glad to hear that they are taking good long hard look at this.

This little tidbit from the article caught my attention.

The ruling was a second blow for St. Louis-based Monsanto's Roundup Ready crops. While soy beans, corn, cotton, and canola genetically engineered to withstand the company's popular weed-killer have been in wide commercial production for years, a similar ruling in 2007 forced a ban on planting Roundup Ready alfalfa until a re-examination was done. That environmental impact statement is not yet done.

In that soy beans and corn make up a huge part of the current food chain (cow eats corn and soy, human eats cow; chicken eats corn and soy, human eats chicken; human eats corn and soy), I wonder how much of our bodies are Roundup Ready.

---

---