Newly approved alfalfa has been genetically engineered to withstand higher doses of spraying with Roundup.

Update: See our new story for more about the alfalfa approval. Did the Obama White House want it?

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Thursday approved the genetically engineered alfalfa developed by chemical company Monsanto. The Roundup Ready alfalfa, also known as GE or GMO alfalfa, will be available to plant this spring, and is genetically manipulated to withstand heavy sprayings of the controversial chemical Roundup (glyphosate), also manufactured by Monsanto. Organic consumers and conventional and organic dairies and grass-fed beef farmers lobbied hard against approval of the crop because alfalfa is among the most important forage crops in the world. The USDA did not even put proposed restrictions in place that would have prevented farmers from planting GMO alfalfa beside organic crops. This is the preferred option of the biotechnology/chemical industry.

Although people don't generally eat alfalfa, they may drink milk or eat beef from grass-fed cows. Studies have shown that grass-fed cows produce healthier milk and meat, in addition to being more environmentally friendly; but now that forage is in danger of genetic cross-contamination because alfalfa is pollinated by bees and other insects. Surveys have overwhelmingly found that most U.S. consumers don't want to eat genetically engineered ingredients, and they overwhelmingly believe GMO ingredients should be identified on labels. However, there are no legal requirements to label GMO ingredients on food.

Observers in organic agriculture groups expected the approval, but were hoping that it would include the first restrictions on GMO crops. "USDA could have maintained regulatory status over the perennial crop that is so important as forage for the livestock industry. Or they could have chosen a limited regulation strategy, with bans on the planting of GE alfalfa seeds in seed-growing regions, to attempt to limit the contamination of alfalfa seed stock by foreign DNA from Monsanto’s crop," explains Will Fantle, cofounder of The Cornucopia Institute, an advocacy group for sustainable family farmers. "Instead, the agency, under heavy pressure from the biotech sector, chose total deregulation. Over 250,000 public comments were received during the final environmental impact statement process, with the vast majority opposing deregulation."

Because the genetically modified alfalfa is designed to resist the effects of Roundup, the decision will likely lead to more pesticide being used on crops. Aside from the genetic contamination and health problems linked to GMOs, including allergies, potentially pre-cancerous changes in the digestive system, infertility, and accelerated aging, scientists are also concerned about expanding the use of Roundup, a chemical linked to more than three dozen plant diseases, and to a reduction in plants' micronutrients content. Humans rely on these micronutrients to survive.

"Other ingredients in Roundup are designed to cause the material to cross water barriers that exist in your lungs," explains Warren Porter, PhD, a molecular and environmental toxicology expert at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. "The surfactants will weaken the protections that the lungs have…the pesticide bypasses the liver and can be transported across the blood-brain barrier and placenta."

The real concern, Porter says, is that nobody knows whether this can change the DNA process that determines how your genes are expressed.

Jeffrey Smith, founder of the Institute for Responsible Technology, suggests concerned consumers take a few minutes to call the White House and ask President Obama to reverse the decision today.

Rodale.com will continue to provide updates regarding the GMO alfalfa situation. For more background, read USDA to OK Genetically Modified Alfalfa; Good-Bye Organic Dairy, Honey, and Grass-Fed Beef?