Judges Ruling Sad but no Surprise

The order that 256 acres of genetically modified seed beets be pulled out of the ground this past week by Judge Jeffrey White shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone, especially those farmers who grow GM beets. White as much said his ruling would be in favor of the organic sugar beet growers, the plaintiffs in this on going litigation, long before he made his formal announcement. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack while not taking sides, has stated the questionable validity  of “ a single judge essentially deciding if someone gets to farm or doesn’t get to farm.” Thankfully however,  the order was for the beet stecklings to be removed from the ground, not destroyed. The impact of removing the genetically modified seed beets will take the USDA more than a year to evaluate, but the average beet grower could probably tell you right now that by that time the impact would be devastating, considering ninety-five percent of the sugar produced in the US comes from GM beets. Of course the USDA and the industry hope to appeal the ruling. In the mean time, perhaps the fundamental rule guaranteeing the right to an  impartial judge should be revisited.