According to the Associated Press, Supreme Court justices on Tuesday sharply questioned a lower court's decision that has prohibited biotech giant Monsanto Co. from selling genetically engineered alfalfa seeds ¦
This is the first time ever that the Supreme Court has heard a case related to a genetically modified (GM) agricultural product, says ACSH s Jeff Stier. Environmentalists are afraid that the GM, or biotech, seeds will cross-pollinate with conventional crops. But the alfalfa being grown is used for animal feed, so activists are concerned either about humans eating meat that was raised on contaminated seeds, or that biotech alfalfa will cross contaminate crops for human consumption. But either way, their arguments are based on vague health claims that have no scientific basis.
Obviously, genetically modified crops are no more dangerous than regular crops, says ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross. These so-called environmentalists have no idea about health or environmental impacts resulting from the use of biotech crops, so they just fall back on the argument that the U.S. Department of Agriculture didn t do an adequately comprehensive environmental review of the product. It s just another example of excessive regulatory oversight for GM products that pose no risk to anyone.
