For related articles and more
information, please visit OCA's
Genetic Engineering page and our
Millions Against Monsanto page.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 21, 2014
CONTACT: Organic Consumers Association: Katherine Paul,
207-653-3090,
katherine@organicconsumers.org
FINLAND, Minn. – On
Wednesday, May 20, voters in two counties in Oregon passed
ballot initiatives to ban the growing of genetically engineered
crops.
Jackson County’s
Measure 15-119 passed overwhelmingly, by
66 percent to 34 percent. Proponents of the ban raised only
$375,000 compared with a record nearly $1 million raised by the
opposition, which included agribusiness giants Monsanto,
Syngenta and DuPont Pioneer.
Voters in Josephine County passed
Measure 17-58 by a vote of
58 percent to 42 percent. However, the ban will be tested in
court because the state passed a
controversial law in October 2013, stripping counties of the
right to pass GMO bans. The Jackson County measure is exempt
from the state law because it had
already qualified for the ballot prior to the passage of
S.B. 863.
Ronnie Cummins, national director of the
Organic Consumers Association (OCA), and the Organic
Consumers Fund which mobilized its members and donated $50,000
to the Oregon campaigns, issued this statement today:
“The passing of these two GMO bans in Jackson and Josephine
Counties should send a clear signal to politicians that citizens
not only reject unregulated and hazardous GMOs, but are willing
to defy the indentured politicians who pass laws, like Oregon’s
S.B. 863, that take away county rights to ban GMOs and
obliterate a 100-year tradition of home rule and balance of
powers between counties and the state.
“This is a tremendous victory for the citizens of these two
counties, and for the farmers who are determined to fight the
threat of unwanted contamination by GMO crops. It is also a
victory for the national anti-GMO movement as it builds momentum
for similar bans in counties in other states.
“The margins of victory for these two measures also bode well
for passing Oregon’s
Ballot Initiative #44 in November 2014, a statewide ballot
measure to require mandatory labeling of GMO foods and foods
containing GMO ingredients, sold at retail.
“And finally, these victories make it clear to agribusiness
giants like Monsanto and Dow that the day has come when they can
no longer buy and lie their way to victory. By using the tools
of democracy, such as ballot initiatives, citizens can overcome
corporate and government corruption through honest campaigns,
built on a foundation of truth, science and fair play.
“The OCA looks forward to helping the citizens of Josephine
County defend their right to ban GMOs when they go to court to
test the state’s new law, S.B. 863, and to helping the Oregon
Right to Know campaign pass a strong GMO labeling law in
November.”
The Organic Consumers
Association (OCA) is an online and grassroots non-profit 501(c)3
public interest organization campaigning for health, justice,
and sustainability. The Organic Consumers Fund is a 501(c)4
allied organization of the Organic Consumers Association,
focused on grassroots lobbying and legislative action.
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