Barbara H. Peterson
Farm Wars
Why don’t I see Jackson County’s fight to ban GMO planting broadcast far and wide on sites such as Natural News, Mercola, and the Institute for Responsible Technology? Why are these sites backing labeling, while completely ignoring this? Why don’t we see support for the banning of GMOs in the biggest GMO sugar beet capital of the country? Why don’t we see “Just Ban It” slogans broadcast all over alternative news sites instead of “Just Label It?”
Hint: Money, money, money, money……. sellout!!! If you make money from the sale of products produced by the same companies that produce GMOs, you might not be very interested in cutting off those suppliers and decreasing your bottom line. It’s business as usual…
Take a real stand against GMO encroachment – Just Ban It!
“The organic farmers are afraid that growing sugar beet seed genetically engineered to withstand weed killer will taint their crops through cross-pollination.
“Indeed, they do want to squash us like a bug,” said Chris Hardy, a Talent organic farmer and chief petitioner for Measure 15-119. “This is about whether we are going to turn the keys to agriculture in the Rogue Valley over to a multinational corporation (Symantec AG) or we are going to say no and stand up to protect our family farms’ future.”
The sugar beet industry wants to protect a major source of the seed it relies on.
“We oppose any prohibition on the production of biotech crops in any county,” said Luther Markwart of the Sugar Beet Growers Association from Washington, D.C. “The reason it is important to us is there is what we refer to as basic seed that is grown in the county.”
That seed is shipped to the Willamette Valley, where it is used to produce a major portion of the commercial sugar beet seed used around the country, said Markwart. Nearly all the sugar beets grown in the U.S. are genetically modified to withstand weed killer.
Genetically modified sweet corn, feed corn, and alfalfa are also grown in Jackson County.”
If you would like to get active in something that can make a real difference right now for organic farmers in our country’s biggest and baddest GMO sugar beet growing capital, support a GMO-Free Jackson County.
A Citizen’s Initiative
In 2012, Jackson county residents learned that a Swiss biotech company had been contracting with local landowners to grow GMO sugar beets on their vacant lots. Concerned that pollen from these genetically engineered crops would contaminate non-GMO crops in the area, several citizens stepped forward to address the situation.
Finding no recourse after contacting numerous governmental agencies, they drafted a petition to ban the growing of GMO crops in Jackson county. After collecting over 6700 signatures, the petition was qualified and will appear on the May 20, 2014 ballot as Measure 15-119.
