U.S. judge halts sales of Monsanto GMO alfalfa

By Carey Gillam

KANSAS City, Mo., March 12 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday issued a preliminary injunction banning the sale of Monsanto Co.'s (MON.N: Quote, Profile, Research) genetically modified alfalfa and any planting of the seed after March 30.

U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer of the Northern District of California granted the injunction at the request of a group of farmers, environmentalists and consumer activists who have alleged the biotech alfalfa could be destructive to both the economy and the environment.

The decision marked the first time a federal court has overturned a USDA approval of a biotech seed and halted planting, according to The Center for Food Safety, among the groups seeking the injunction.

The judge's order vacates the USDA's 2005 approval of Monsanto's alfalfa, which has been genetically modified to withstand spraying of the company's Roundup herbicide. The order called for an immediate halt to sales of the specialty seed.

The court ruling specifically does not prohibit growers from "harvesting, using, or selling" any Roundup Ready alfalfa that has already been planted. But the judge said seed sales are now banned and farmers who already have seed are only allowed until March 30 to plant.

The injunction follows Judge Breyer's decision last month that found that USDA was "cavalier" in its approval of Monsanto's alfalfa and that it violated national environmental laws by approving the genetically altered alfalfa without a full environmental impact statement.

"We're taking the judge's orders seriously and we will comply with the requirement that we notify the Roundup Ready alfalfa sellers and growers that no Roundup Ready alfalfa seed can be planted after March 30th," said Rachel Iadicicco, a spokeswoman for USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

'PLEASED' WITH THE HALT TO SALES