Farmers hope to ban GMO crops
GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — Supporters of a local ban on genetically modified crops filed signatures with the Jackson County clerk last week in Medford to put a measure on the county ballot.
Supporters carried signs and drove a tractor outside the Jackson County Courthouse before filing 6,710 signatures with the county clerk. To get on the ballot, 4,662 will have to be certified. Barring a special election, the next ballot it could get on would be May, 2014.
The measure would ban anyone from raising genetically engineered plants in Jackson County, with exemptions for scientific research. It also calls for the county to conduct inspections and allows enforcement through citizen lawsuits.
Chief petitioner Brian Comnes, a retiree from Ashland, said they want to protect organic farmers whose crops could be contaminated by pollen from genetically engineered crops, such as sugar beets and alfalfa.
"If someone is growing GMO alfalfa next to your organic alfalfa, the whole burden is on you not to get cross-pollinated," he said. "The guy who grows the GMO stuff doesn't have to do a thing."
Noting genetically modified canola and sugar beets have been an issue in the Willamette Valley, State Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ashland, said he has drafted bills to require compensation for farmers who suffer losses from contamination by genetically modified crops, and to assure that if a county enacts a ban, it would be able to enforce it.
"We have our Right to Farm Law in Oregon," he said. "It's a question, and I want to make sure we are on solid legal footing."
Buckley added he expected strong opposition from the genetically engineered crops industry.
Co-petitioner Chris Hardy, an Ashland organic farmer, said certified organic seeds grown in the Rogue Valley are sold all over the country through various cooperatives. Since the U.S. Department of Agriculture deregulated sugar beets genetically modified to withstand the weed killer Roundup last July, they can be planted anywhere, and are grown all over the Rogue Valley, including a location across the road from his farm.
"We're pretty much surrounded here," he said.
Jackson County Farm Bureau President Ron Bjork says he thinks most farmers in the county believe in coexistence and would oppose an outright ban.
"This ballot measure they have, as far as I'm concerned, they should be talking about coexistence with the other farmers, and not trying to separate everybody," he said. "We believe in coexistence, the county Farm Bureau does."
Comnes said the owners of 90 farms, 230 businesses and four granges in the area have signed a statement in support of the ban.
Organic seed producer Chuck Burr of Ashland said he had to destroy his chard seed crop after learning that genetically engineered sugar beets were growing near enough to have cross-pollinated with his chard.
"I can't legally sell a seed I cannot guarantee would grow true to type," he said. "I have an absolute right to conduct commerce on my farm in my county where I live."
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press
Do these farmers have lobying money to BRIBE politrixters that big agri-corporations like monsanto does. In the USSA where our" leaders" are puppets for the elite, they dont care about the issues of the citizens,only thier puppetmasters.
Anyone interested in learning the holistic truth about GMO foods should immediately research Dr. Joseph Mercola, a leading voice on the subject (and many other issues, to boot). The FDA is not a friend to organic farmers, or the average American citizen for that matter. Check out mercola.com!
I was on board until they mentioned inspections. I, and I think most other sane, freedom-loving people, will NEVER agree to allowing the government to come inspect my garden! That is nonsense.
Organic? Higher price? Agenda driven? First I would ask this guy to prove with unbiased science how his crops were damaged. Did his chard have a different taste? Did his chard have different nutritional values? Did his chard still contain antioxidents? You know anyone can throw out charges these days without adequate proof. Organic the big thing with some folks, and that is ok. So is it ok to eat commercial fertilized foods, and foods fertilized by cow manure and compost. Remember anything in excess is harmful and that includes organic. All I would ask is for people to stop pushing their agenda. Live and let live in harmony. You can only spend so much money, so there is no need to try to take it from others. I wonder if the little honey bee cares, he just wants to find pollen so he can do the job. Isn't grafting of vegetables changing the genes of the vegetable? That seems to be acceptable to the organic people. What is really going on here???Â
 @souptonuts Completely ignoring any questions about the food itself, GMO foods are often patented. Farmers who use GMO seeds pay for the "privilege" of using that patented product. The problem is their crops cross-pollinate with those who haven't paid (and don't want GMO food) and the response of the patent-holder is to sue the farmer who hasn't paid for their seeds for everything they have. Monsanto has been known to lob lawsuits at non-GMO farmers without having any proof their crops are contaminated, and plenty of farms have no choice but to settle out of court rather than fight a behemoth like Monsanto.Â
@PleaseBeSmart Also if I were to believe everything these people say, I should have been pushing daisies a long time ago. I believe in moderation, and I plan to live to age 100 and only have 30 to go.
@SearchForTheTruth I got kind of carried away and did not answer your question. My mother was a terrific cook, and we ate very well. I was raised mostly on beef, venison, potatoes bread and gravy, and lot's of home grown veggies. I love veggies and have to admit I cut back pretty heavy on the beef, but then I was raised on a ranch, so for goodness sake had to eat beef. I ate and still eat quite a lot of salt, we cured lot's of stuff, so salt was used heavily, (I have cut that back a little, but probably not enough). Actually I tried to keep things mostly in moderation. I have always believed excesses of anything can be harmful. Have a great day, and live a long life!
@SearchForTheTruth You are correct I have been blessed with health and in my 70's I feel quite fortunate. As for what I eat, just about anything I want, but not to excess. I don't drink, don't smoke, and I walk at least two miles a day before I do the rest of my chores. I don't eat any of the poison served in fast food eateries, but don't believe people should not eat there if that is their choice. I have always believed it is not my place to tell people what to eat or do unless they are personally harming me or mine. If people want to consume themselves to death, so be it. As far as green and the environment, that is a farce, and an agenda. My generation has been recycling and conserving all our lives we just didn't have an agenda and did not call it "green". My wife washed diapers, she did not throw away paper diapers. We always filtered and cleaned and reused our oil, we used glass instead of plastic. I could go on and on to the point I was writing a book on conservation that we have been doing all our life, without an "agenda", without bilking or taking advantage of anyone. Our so called government and teachers have taken all the common sense and responsibility away from people. A declining society.
@souptonuts You are truly blessed to have lived such a long and healthy life. What did you eat when you were a child? Definitely not the adulterated food that is popular today. Do you know that the children of today are only expected to live until age 50? Why is that? Why are they so much sicker? We are being poisoned through our food, our water and the air we breathe, all of us, slowly but surely. It's affecting our physical and mental health. Please look deeper. The signs are there. www.ewg.org
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@PleaseBeSmart @souptonuts I see what you are saying, but no one can totally control bees, the wind, the rain, the weather in general. What I am saying is that this guy does not know that his neighbors crops are cross pollinating any more that the other organic farmer ten miles away. I just think there is a whole lot of people trying to make their fortune at the expense of others. It just really irks me that someone can just throw out a theory with no truthful evidence, just like a defense lawyer in court. "The jury will disregard that last bit of evidence". Yeh right!, The damage is done. Live and let live.
@drinkmorewater @PleaseBeSmart I know that organic farming is not new. I have been gardening for over 50 years and most of my stuff is organic, but I also use a little commercial fish oil and a few other things to control desease and bugs. If that makes me a bad guy so be it.  I am old, healthy, and want to keep my garden the way I want it without interference from the Government or anyone else. I can't control the bees or the wind, and I get new brands of weeds every year. I try to just deal with it, I don't blame my neighbor. I am not trying to make a buck off organic, or green, been doing both before someone got the idea they could bilk others by using those labels. Our society will fall for almost anything anymore if it is marketed to their liking. Never mind what the actual truth is, and who knows these days.
 @souptonuts  @PleaseBeSmart it is not true a farmer does not know his crops are cross pollinating.  Folks are speaking up because lucky for us we live in a democracy even though it seems to have been hijacked by big business.  If you did a bit of research you would see this is not driven by whacko's.  The so called "organic" farming is nothing new.  WWII was won partly because farmers cover cropped for nitrogen, honey bee forage and erosion control.  The nitrogen that was saved was used to defeat the Fascists. Many of the GMO's and new class of pollinator killing pesticides were not independently tested before let out of bag. The EPA has to many ex-industry folks in it with stock interests.  It says right on the label of the new neonictinoid class of chemicals that it is deadly to pollinators, yet was OK'ed.  This is not bull.
 @souptonuts  @PleaseBeSmart live and let the fat lazy neighbor break out the chemicals instead of hand pulling or grubbing unwanted plants. We have a huge Nature Deficient Disorder as a nation.  Half the so called weeds folks poison are edible. Long live the dandle-line which fed many Americans during the depression.