GMO beet foes say US court rules against Monsanto

KANSAS CITY, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Opponents of Monsanto (MON.N) Co's genetically engineered sugar beets said on Tuesday a federal court has ruled in their favor, finding government approval of the crop was unlawful.

The Center for Food Safety said the U.S. District Court for the northern district of California ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) violated federal law by failing to prepare an environmental impact statement before deregulating genetically altered sugar beets.

Monsanto developed the biotech beets to be resistant to glyphosate herbicide, marketed by Monsanto as Roundup.

The court has ordered the USDA to conduct a rigorous assessment of the environmental and economic impacts of the crop on farmers and the environment, and will evaluate other remedies in an October meeting of the parties.

In addition to the Center for Food Safety, plaintiffs included several farmer and consumer groups that filed suit in January 2008. The groups alleged that APHIS failed to adequately assess the environmental, health, and associated economic impacts of allowing "Roundup Ready" sugar beets to be commercially grown without restriction.

Neither USDA nor Monsanto immediately provided a comment.

The opponents said genetically altered sugar beets are wind pollinated and would inevitably cross-pollinate related crops grown nearby. (Reporting by Carey Gillam; Editing by David Gregorio)