Genetically Engineered Foods Archives

Ban on Genetically Engineered Crops?

Mendocino Votes on GE Crop Ban
March 1, 2004

Voters in a rural county in Northern California will decide on "Super
Tuesday" (March 2) whether to become the first county in the U.S.
to ban the cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) crops. In
late 2003, activists in Mendocino County qualified Proposition H
for the ballot, which proposes to ban the "propagation, cultivation,
raising and growing of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Mendocino County."

Mendocino is home to 150 organic farms and wineries, representing
about one-sixth of all agricultural land in the mountainous, California
coastal county. Growers of organic wine grapes support the proposition,
arguing that high value crops could become contaminated with DNA
from GE crops, risking organic certification as well as their hopes
for new markets in Europe and Japan where GE food and wine are a
major consumer concern. A recent report from the Union of Concerned
Scientists, Gone to Seed, confirms the difficulty of preventing
cross-pollination from engineered DNA in GE crops that are already
gown in large quantities. According to analyses by two independent
laboratories commissioned for the study, even corn, soy and cotton
seeds certified as pure enough for commercial grade contained traces
of GE DNA in 5 out of 6 samples, a finding the biotech industry
admits is inevitable. The report warns that if the rules for segregating
GE crops are not tightened as the number of engineered varieties
grows, the entire U.S. food supply will soon be contaminated.

Meanwhile in Vermont, where organic agriculture is also becoming
increasingly important, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously
for the Farmer Protection Act, a bill that would place a two-year
moratorium on planting GE crops throughout the state. Two other
statewide GE bills are also under consideration in Vermont, including
one requiring labeling of all GE seeds. Seventy towns in Vermont
have already passed resolutions against GE crops, and several more
have local regulations on the March 2nd ballot.

The agricultural biotech industry has gone on the offensive in response
to these local actions. A consortium of the biggest corporations
in the highly-consolidated pesticide and GE seed industry, including
Monsanto, DuPont and Dow AgroSciences, have spent more than $300,000
to defeat Measure H in Mendocino, bringing the opposition total
to over $400,000 -- a record for the county -- while proponents
have raised just over $72,000, mostly through small donations.

Working through the California Plant Health Association, a politically
powerful trade group of pesticide, fertilizer, and biotech seed
companies, sued to change the ballot language submitted by backers
of the initiative. One of their complaints concerned the list of
damages that might result from GMO contamination. Among them was
the risk of losing access to markets for wine in Europe and Japan,
as more than one third of Mendocino County's wine grapes are organic.
Industry attorneys argued that since wine containing GMOs was not
yet for sale, the ballot could not claim that it wasn't marketable.
However, it was revealed in court that at least 30 laboratory trials
of GE grapes are now proposed in California, adding weight to fears
of GMO contamination. The original ballot language was allowed to stand.

In 2003, agrochemical and biotech corporations spent more than $6
million to defeat an Oregon ballot measure that would have required
consumer labeling for GMOs. The backers of Mendocino's Proposition
H understand what they are up against. "These are some of the same
industry giants, armed with high-powered law firms and vast resources,
that have successfully squelched recent grassroots attempts around
the nation aimed at resisting the spread of GMO crops and food products,"
said Els Cooperrider, a former university scientist and a local
owner of the Ukiah Brewing Co. & Restaurant. "This is Mendocino
County vs. hundreds of corporations."

If the voters of Mendocino County choose a GE ban on Super Tuesday,
Proposition H will add momentum to other local initiatives against
GMOs in North America, and will send a clear message to biotech
giants that money will not always defeat informed local action.

Sources: "Mendocino To Vote on Banning GMOs," California Report,
KQED FM Radio (San Francisco, Sacramento), February 27, 2004; Press
Releases, GM Free Vermont, February 26 & 27, 2004, http://www.gefreevt.org;
"Ruling lets language of Mendocino County ballot measure stand for
March 2 election," The Press Democrat, December 31, 2003; "Engineered
DNA Found in Crop Seeds," Washington Post, Feb 24, 2004, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A486-2004Feb23.html;
Gone to Seed, Union of Concerned Scientists, http://www.ucsusa.org;
Press Release, Yes on Measure H, GMO Free Mendocino, December 30,
2003, http://www.gmofreemendo.com; Press Release, Organic Consumers
Association, Feb 27, 2004, http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/mendocino-ballot.cfm.
Contact: PANNA.

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