US Supreme Court questions ban of biotech alfalfa

WASHINGTON — U.S. Supreme Court justices are questioning a lower court’s decision that has prohibited biotech giant Monsanto Co. from selling genetically engineered alfalfa seeds, possibly paving the way for the company to distribute the seeds for the first time since 2007.

The case has been closely watched by environmentalists and agricultural businesses. A federal judge in San Francisco barred the planting of genetically engineered alfalfa nation-wide until the government could adequately study the crop’s potential impact on organic and conventional varieties.

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