A federal district court judge late Friday revoked the government’s approval of genetically engineered sugar beets, saying that the United States Department of Agriculture had not adequately assessed the environmental consequences before approving them for commercial cultivation.
The decision by Judge Jeffrey S. White of Federal District Court in San Francisco appears to effectively ban the planting of the genetically modified sugar beets — which this year make up about 95 percent of the crop — until the Agriculture Department prepares an environmental impact statement and reconsiders approval of the crop, a process that might take a couple of years.