Beet growers bemoan GM seed ban

WELLINGTON – Like most of his fellow Northern Colorado sugar beet farmers, Richard Seaworth is perplexed and saddened by an August court ruling that forbids the planting of genetically modified beets next spring.

On Aug. 13, Federal District Court Judge Jeffrey White ruled that the U.S. government erred in its approval of genetically modified sugar beets. White revoked that approval and ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to prepare an environmental impact statement and approve the crop again, a process that could take up to two years or more.

“We’re obviously disappointed and really don’t know where we go from here,´ said…