Petition To Ban GMO Crops Rejected
By Oregon Family Farm Association
The Lane County Clerk has rejected a petition to ban genetically modified crops, stating the measure is too broad. The “local food ordinance” does not comply with the Oregon constitutional “single subject” requirement. The petition aims to “create and protect a local food system.” But the proposed ordinance also lists four other subjects: the creation of rights of natural communities; the creation of rights to self-government and sovereign citizenship; the elimination or curtailment of corporate rights; and limited immunity to federal patent law.” The petition includes provisions that the ordinance supplant, in Lane County, any state or federal regulations as well as the rights of any agricultural corporation.
Support Local Food Rights, the group that filed the petition, has expressed concerns that a simple ban on GMOs would not withstand a legal challenge because of the powerful rights of corporations. The group will challenge the clerk’s decision in Lane County Circuit Court. They hope to get the initiative on the May 2014 ballot.
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