GEO Watch | Jackson County, Oregon Bans GMOs

























Image credit: kboo-fm



Rural farm county home to major Monsanto & Syngenta GMO seed operations


ORDINANCE BASED ON ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS NOT FOOD
SAFETY











Devon G. Peña | Las Colonias de San Pablo, CO | May
20, 2014


A rural farming
county in Oregon has just voted to ban certain GMO plants from cultivation.
With 94 percent of the vote in, the Jackson County voters produced a solid victory
margin of 66 to 34 percent. While Vermont recently became the first state to
require GMO labeling of retail consumer foodstuffs, this is the first vote
involving a ban on the cultivation of certain genetically engineered or transgenic
crops. The successful outcome occurred despite the fact that opponents including
Monsanto, Syngenta, and other industrial growers spent more than $455,000 to
defeat the citizens’ ordinance initiative. It seems to be getting harder for
the Gene Giants to buy elections.


In the case of
Jackson County, the ban specifically targets large GMO seed production operations
by Monsanto and Syngenta. Monsanto produces GMO beet seeds and Syngenta
produces GMO turf grass seeds on several thousand acres in the county.


The language in
the ordinance specifically states that it bans
“any person from propagating, cultivating, raising or growing ‘genetically-engineered’
(defined) plants in Jackson County.”


According to the official Jackson County
website, the Ordinance also:


Requires affected persons to harvest, destroy or remove all genetically
engineered plants within 12 months of the enactment of the ordinance;


Provides exemptions for certain health, educational, scientific and
medical research institutions if activities are conducted under secure, indoor
laboratory conditions;


Allows for inspections of private property by County code enforcement
officers after obtaining a search warrant;


Allows for enforcement of the ordinance by the County and by private
persons or groups through the State court system;


Provides for contested hearings and appeals for alleged violations;


Allows the County to recover the cost of abatement from the property
owner or the person causing the violation;


Defines the terms “genetically
engineered,” “organic agriculture,” and “organic.”





We will have a full report and analysis tomorrow.





For the full text of the ordinance go to:





Jackson
County Ordinance 15-119  - Ordinance to
Ban Growing of Some “Genetically-Engineered” (defined) Plants 

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