KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Opponents of genetically modified foods celebrated a historic victory after voters approved a measure March 2 to make Mendocino County in California the first in the United States to ban GM crops and animals.
The ban was approved despite strong opposition from biotech companies including Monsanto and DuPont, which have successfully defeated similar measures elsewhere in the U.S.
“We won. We beat the biotech bullies,” said Laura Hamburg, spokesperson for the “Yes on Measure H” campaign. “The people emerged as victorious. We’re sending Monsanto and the rest of the biotech corporate club packing in Mendocino County.”
Read Also
Keep it clean on pre-harvest chemical use
Canadian farmers urged to toe the line on pre-harvest pesticide application and market product restrictions to avoid grain marketing headaches.
The measure bans the planting of biotech crops and the raising of livestock that have been genetically altered.
Supporters said the designation as a biotech-free county should make products grown there more marketable, particularly to Europe where antibiotech sentiment is strong.
Officials with Monsanto and Dupont were not available for comment.
Biotech proponents spent more than $600,000 to defeat the measure, compared to about $80,000 raised by its supporters.
Hamburg said the 80,000 residents in the northern California county, including about 50,000 voters, are closely tied to agriculture and are dedicated to preserving the purity of the vineyards and other agricultural resources there.
“We’re part of a growing grassroots movement of people all over the world standing up to the biotech industry,” said Hamburg.
More initiatives are being organized to stop the spread of biotech crops.
Drives similar to Mendocino’s effort are being planned in other California counties, and a bill is pending in Vermont that would place a two-year moratorium on planting and growing GM crops.
In North Dakota, where Monsanto is planning to roll out the world’s first genetically altered wheat, opponents are renewing efforts to at least temporarily prohibit the biotech crop.
Two years ago, consumer groups in Oregon tried to pass a measure requiring labelling of GM foods, but lost after a coalition of biotech companies spent $5.5 million to kill the initiative.
The vote in California comes amid widespread concerns globally about genetic modification.
Last week, countries across Asia, Africa, Europe and most of Latin America agreed to tighter rules governing trade in GM seeds, over the opposition of the U.S.
The United States has defended the spread of biotech crops and has pushed a WTO complaint against the European Union for keeping its borders closed to the altered foods. Last month, the U.S. Department of State’s bureau of economic and business affairs launched a website dedicated to biotech crop development information.
Biotech critics say the government is putting corporate interests ahead of the public interest.
They say the technology has not been fully tested to determine if it will cause health problems or irreversible harm to the environment. They also say it does little to address world hunger and health problems and offers minimal benefits to some farmers, while contaminating conventional and organic crops.
