A federal judge last week rescinded the U.S. Department of Agriculture's approval of genetically altered sugar beets.

 The ruling  means growers won't be able to use the modified seeds, which were developed by Monsanto Co. to resist its popular weed killer Roundup, until regulators complete a more thorough review of how the biotechnology beets affect other food. 

The Wall Street Journal says it is far from clear how soon U.S. sugar-beet farmers can return to planting the seeds, which are genetically modified the same way as the vast majority of the corn, soybeans and cotton grown in the U.S.  The scientific seeds account for about 95 percent of the current sugar beet crop in the U.S.

A New York Times report includes a discussion of a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year in a similar case involving genetically engineered alfalfa.

Monsanto offers a blog posting.

For more background, listen to a report that aired last year on American Public Media's Marketplace.