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Seed giant Monsanto argued in the Supreme Court today against a lower court's injunction stopping sales of its "Roundup Ready" alfalfa nationwide. The injunction had been issued by the lower court after it found that the Department of Agriculture had failed to create an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the effects of Monsanto's alfalfa on natural alfalfa crops.

In Court, Monsanto argued that the lower court had exceeded its authority and should have sent the case back to the USDA for the environmental study instead of making a judgment on the issue itself.

Lawyers for Geertson Seed Farms and other farmers, who had challenged the USDA's 2004 decision to allow unregulated sale of the genetically-modified alfalfa, argued that Monsanto's alfalfa might spread and cross-breed with their crops, "contaminating" them.

Normally judgements about this kind of crop contamination are made by the USDA, so the Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether the lower court overstepped its bounds by stopping Monsanto from selling the seeds.

The case also contains a number of procedural issues which may push the Justices to send it back to the lower courts on a variety of grounds. Monsanto initially challenged only the injunction against selling the seeds, but the lower court also issued an order removing the USDA's approval of their sale. Thus, even if the injunction were lifted, Monsanto would not be allowed to sell the seeds.

The Justices also asked about the harm the farmers are trying to avoid. Justice Antonin Scalia in particular asked several times about the distance between alfalfa fields owned by the farmers and fields using the genetically-modified version. Scalia also asked what the harm would be if the crops were contaminated, dismissing the farmers' desire to "cater to the European market." "This is not the end of the world," Scalia said.

Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor seemed most concerned about the procedural stance of Monsanto, asking why the case should not just be sent back to the USDA. A lawyer for the Department of Justice noted that the USDA is currently working on an Environmental Impact Statement, as the farmers requested at the beginning of litigation, but he said that the work would not be complete for at least another year.

The Supreme Court will decide the case by summer.