Elena Kagan and Monsanto

Going to Bat for GE Foods
By Joshua Frank
CounterPunch.org, May 19, 2010

Alfalfa is the fourth largest crop grown in the United States and
Monsanto wants to control it. On April 27, the Supreme Court heard
arguments in a case that could well write the future of alfalfa
production in our country.

Fortunately, for those who are concerned about the potential
environmental and health impacts of genetically engineered (GE) crops,
Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan is not yet residing on the bench.

For the past four years, the Center for Food Safety (CFS), a Washington
DC-based consumer protection group, and others have litigated against
Monsanto and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
regarding the company's Roundup Ready alfalfa. The coalition has focused
their fight against Monsanto's GE alfalfa, based on concerns that the
plants could negatively impact biodiversity as well as other non-GE food
crops.

In 2007, a California US District Court ruled in a landmark case that
the USDA had illegally approved Monsanto's GE alfalfa without carrying
out a proper and full Environmental Impact Statement. The plaintiffs
argued that GE alfalfa could contaminate nearby crops with its
genetically manipulated pollen. Geertson Seed Farm, with the help of
CFS, claimed that the farm's non-GE crops could be damaged beyond repair
by Monsanto's Roundup Ready alfalfa.
Monsanto's well-paid legal team appealed the court's decision, but, in June 2009,
the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the previous ruling
and placed a nationwide ban on Monsanto's Roundup Ready alfalfa.

"USDA should start over and truly evaluate the contamination of non-GM
alfalfa and the potential affects on seed growers, organic and natural
meat producers, dairy producers, and conventional and organic honey
producers," said farmer and anti-GE advocate Todd Leake shortly after
the ruling.

Monsanto, however, didn't back down and appealed the Ninth Circuit's
decision to the US Supreme Court. In stepped Elena Kagan, whose role as
solicitor general is to look out for the welfare of American citizens in
all matters that come before the high court.

Unfortunately, Kagan opted to ditch her duty and instead side with
Monsanto. In March 2010, a month before the Supreme Court heard
arguments in the case, the solicitor general's office released a legal
brief despite the fact that the US government was not a defendant in the
case. Monsanto appealed the lower court's decision so the USDA was not
party to the suit. The Solicitor General's office produced an amicus
brief during the petitioning stage of the appeal at the behest of the
Supreme Court.
As Kagan's office argued, "The judgment of the court of appeals should be reversed,
and the case should be remanded with instructions to vacate the permanent injunction
entered by the district court."

Despite numerous examples of cross-pollination of GE crops,
Monsanto argued during the April 27 court proceedings that this was
highly unlikely to occur. CFS and other plaintiffs are concerned that a
federal law could be affected by the Supreme Court's ruling. Courts in
Oregon and California have already argued in previous cases that GE
seeds must also be studied as to the potential impact on other
conventional and organic crops.

Surprisingly, it seems that Kagan does not support a thorough study
of GE seeds and their potential impact on environmental and human
health. In doing so, Kagan has sided with conservative justices on the
court who appeared skeptical that the lower courts had made the right
decision in banning GE alfalfa.

During the Supreme Court hearings, Chief Justice John Roberts
questioned whether the Ninth Circuit had the authority to issue a ban on
GE alfalfa. Roberts contented that the court ought to have instead
remanded the issue back to the USDA. Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia
took his defense of Monsanto even further, stating, "This isn't the
contamination of the New York City water supply," he said. "This isn't
the end of the world, it really isn't."

Apparently Scalia and Roberts aren't up on the latest scientific
analysis that Monsanto's GE crops have, in fact, bred new voracious
super-weeds, which have forced farmers to "spray fields with more toxic
herbicides, pull weeds by hand, and return to more labor-intensive
methods like regular plowing."
"Bowing to pressure from Monsanto and the other biotech companies,
our federal agencies approved [GE] corn and cotton
without requiring any mandatory testing for environmental impacts,"
Andrew Kimbrell, executive director for the CFS recently wrote. "And the
expected happened: a few years later, independent university
researchers - again not the government - discovered that this [GE]
pesticide was potentially fatal to Monarch butterflies and other
pollinators ... Without mandatory government testing, we're clueless
about the universe of keystone pollinators and other species that are
being decimated as the [GE] plants continue to proliferate in our
fields."

The Supreme Court's decision on Monsanto's alfalfa ban will likely
come early this summer. Justice Stephen Breyer recused himself from the
case because his brother Charles Breyer oversaw the lower court's
decision against the company. Unsurprisingly, Justice Clarence Thomas,
who once worked in the legal department for Monsanto, did not recuse
himself from the matter.

While Elena Kagan has no experience on the bench and has provided
the public with little to no information about where she stands on some
of the most important issues of the day, the fact that she came to bat
for Monsanto two months ago, at a time when the company is reeling from
negative press, may shed some light on how she could rule in future GE
cases if she's confirmed as the next Supreme Court justice.

http://www.counterpunch.org/frank05192010.html

Views: 60

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Saint Quinn favorited Burbia's video
11 hours ago
Doc Vega posted blog posts
18 hours ago
Burbia commented on tjdavis's blog post The Jewish Couple That Taught Bob Dylan Hebrew and Introduced Him to Zionism
"Haaretz put this story behind a pay wall. Sali Ariel and Terry Noble were the names of the couple…"
yesterday
William Heckman is now a member of 12160 Social Network
yesterday
cheeki kea commented on tjdavis's photo
Wednesday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's video
Thumbnail

This Woman DESTROYED Harley-Davidson's Future Forever

"It's a sad day on the highway. But I guess the show must go on. Watch out for the ruination of…"
Wednesday
cheeki kea posted a video

This Woman DESTROYED Harley-Davidson's Future Forever

This Woman DESTROYED Harley-Davidson's Future ForeverWelcome to Ride Radar – Your Frontline Source for Motorcycle Deals, Trends & Market Mayhem.Looking for t...
Wednesday
tjdavis posted a photo
Wednesday
Burbia posted a status
"Who knew releasing the MLK files and literally deflecting, it ends up implicating himself with the Epstein Files."
Tuesday
Burbia posted a video

Dan Bilzerian DEMOLISHES MAGA Nutjob Patrick Bet-David on His Own Show

Watch as two powerhouse personalities collide in this no-holds-barred debate on one of the world’s most contentious issues. Patrick Bet-David, known for his ...
Monday
Doc Vega's 7 blog posts were featured
Sunday
tjdavis's 2 blog posts were featured
Sunday
Less Prone favorited tjdavis's blog post Track AIPAC
Sunday
FREEDOMROX's blog post was featured

MRNA VACCINES: Question

Hello my fellow sojourners,I know it has been five years since the Plandemic, but one question has…See More
Sunday
Less Prone favorited FREEDOMROX's blog post MRNA VACCINES: Question
Sunday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Jul 19
cheeki kea posted a photo
Jul 19
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Jul 18
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Marjory Taylor Green Proposes Bill Abolishing Geoengineering or Weather Modification
"cheeki kea Marjory is in a daily battle with Democrats on the hill constantly coming up with more…"
Jul 18
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Jul 16

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted