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The hurried review and approval this summer by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Monsanto’s SmartStax genetically modified corn has now been called into question by the late September federal court ruling against a GM, herbicide-resistant strain of sugar beets, according to the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), a broad-based coalition of nearly 300 faith-based investors with over $100 billion in invested capital.

In March 2008, ICCR led a web-based campaign targeting 63 leading US restaurant, food, beverage and candy companies-including such household names as McDonald’s, Campbell Soup, Kellogg, Kraft Foods, Sara Lee, PepsiCo, Wendy’s and Hershey’s-urging them to weigh in against the planting of genetically modified sugar beets. More than 54,200 emails were sent to companies by consumers participating in the ICCR campaign. The GM sugar beet crop would be used to make the sugar contained in thousands of the most widely consumed food products in the US.

In September, Federal Judge Jeffrey White ruled that the government illegally approved the “Roundup- Ready” genetically modified, herbicide-resistant strain of sugar beets without adequately considering the chance they will contaminate other beet crops, a federal judge in San Francisco has ruled.

ICCR Board Chair Margaret Weber said: “The recent ruling by Federal District Judge White that the US Department of Agriculture failed to do an adequate environmental assessment prior to approval of planting GMOsugar beets, is a high profile reminder of the weaknesses in the approval process. It raises questions about the recent and inadequate approval by EPA of SmartStax without public notification of opportunity to comment. SmartStax is a complex genetically engineered corn with a total of 8 inserted genes. The most inserted genes in previous approvals was three.”

SmartStax was approved by the EPA this summer after a rushed review process.