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A federal judge ruled the U.S. Department of Agriculture improperly approved genetically modified sugar beets in 2005 and ordered the agency to conduct a more exhaustive study of the crop’s environmental impact.

The decision on Monday by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White in San Francisco represents the second victory for opponents of genetically modified foods in the span of a few months. It is also represents another possible setback for Creve Coeur-based Monsanto Co., the biotech giant striving to expand its offering of crops that are resistant to Roundup Ready herbicide.

In June, a federal appeals court upheld a 2-year-old ban on Monsanto’s biotech alfalfa. In both cases, courts ruled that regulators must conduct a more thorough review of genetically modified crops before approving them.

Monsanto spokesman Garrett Kasper said Judge White’s order found fault with the procedure used by the Agriculture Department, not "the safety or efficacy of Roundup Ready sugar beets."

The ruling doesn’t affect the company’s ability to license its Roundup Ready technology for sugar beets. For now, seed companies can continue to sell the seed and growers can continue to plant it, Kasper said.

About 30 percent of the world’s refined sugar comes from sugar beets. And in just four years after their introduction, Roundup Ready sugar beets are planted on more than 1 million acres, or 95 percent of the total sugar beet acreage in North America, according to Monsanto.

The beets were genetically engineered to withstand applications of glyphosate herbicide.

The Washington D.C.-based Center for Food Safety and other environmental groups and organic seed companies filed a lawsuit in January 2008. The plaintiffs claimed the Agriculture Department violated federal law by deregulating the beets without sufficiently studying the environmental impact and the potential consequences for growers whose fields may be contaminated by cross-pollination.

Oregon’s Willamette Valley produces almost all of the nation’s sugar beet seed, and is a major source of seed for red table beets and chard. Plaintiffs argued that the genetically modified seed could contaminate non-GM seed and devastate organic farmers.

"Organic seed growers are directly threatened, and the USDA failed to protect those farmers and the consumers who want to eat their food," said Zelig Golden, staff attorney for Center for Food Safety in San Francisco.

Plaintiffs also argued that genetically modified sugar beets would lead to more glyphosate residue in sugar and encourage farmers to apply more weed killer to their fields, promoting the development of herbicide-resistant "super weeds."

Attorneys for Monsanto, the sugar beet industry, regulators and Center for Food Safety are scheduled to return to court in late October to discuss the remedies phase of the case.

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