Effort to ban GMOs in Sonoma County organized
Many describe the sweeping grasslands spanning Sonoma and Marin counties as a single contiguous dairy belt, a close-knit agricultural region where shared ideals move freely across the county line.
Yet there is at least one key difference across that invisible border – unlike Marin, as well as neighboring Mendocino County to the north, Sonoma County does not ban the agricultural cultivation of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
That could change this November, when county voters will face a ballot measure that would ban the growing of GMOs in Sonoma County’s unincorporated areas.
Proponents have described the measure as one to protect the county’s existing organic farmers, a ban that would work as a shield against cross-pollination by GMO crops. Supporters also argue that the use of GMOs in agriculture comes with a variety of downsides, ranging from increased pesticide use to negative health impacts.
Meanwhile, the county’s preeminent agriculture organization, the 3,000-member Sonoma County Farm Bureau, is among those opposing the ban, casting it as a push by outsider interests that would reduce the competitiveness of local farmers while limiting their options in the event of a future crisis such as drought or disease.
As a leader in the group that worked to bring the measure to the ballot, Karen Hudson, a Rohnert Park resident, said the appetite for such a rule has grown since Sonoma County voters shot down a similar measure by a 5-percent margin in 2005. Humboldt, Trinity and Santa Cruz counties also have bans in place.
“It’s a North Coast, West Coast, non-GMO growing zone that is forming, and Sonoma County stands out as the county between Marin and Mendocino that doesn’t have this law yet. Why shouldn’t we have a law that protects our farmers too?” said Hudson, campaign coordinator for the group known as Citizens for Healthy Farms and Families.
Voters to decide
Faced with the choice of either adopting the ordinance outright or sending it to the ballot, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors moved in May to let voters decide the outcome. The decision came with sharp criticism for the language of the measure itself, which supervisors described as alarmist and lacking in scientific justification.
“To me, it’s always about the unintended consequences, and really looking at the science behind it,” said Supervisor David Rabbitt, whose district encompasses Petaluma.
Supervisors were required to act due to the resounding success of a signature drive to force the measure to the ballot, which reportedly collected around 10,000 more names than were necessary. The move to the ballot was supported by the Farm Bureau.
A county-commissioned report by the UC Cooperative Extension found loose language in the measure could be interpreted to apply to a wide range of practices, including grafting. The report said no evidence existed that GMO foods were harmful to people, and that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which ultimately sets policy for organic certification, does not penalize farmers whose crops are inadvertently “contaminated” by GMOs.
Yet supporters argued the ordinance was sorely needed to protect the operations of organic farmers.
In common usage, “GMO” typically refers to plants or animals that have had their genomes modified through modern genetic engineering methods to provide certain characteristics, such as resistance to herbicide.
The May hearing attracted some of the biggest names in Sonoma County agriculture, ranging from celebrated newcomers to multi-generational dynasties, along with a number of activists. Extensive testimony showed the schism between factions, with speakers representing a cross section of industries and farms large and small.
Among those who spoke that day was Albert Straus, whose Petaluma-based Straus Family Creamery was the first in the country to go all-organic. His family’s dairy farm in the West Marin town of Marshall was also the first in California to obtain organic certification.
The certification for livestock is contingent on, among other things, an all-organic diet. After testing found non-organic genes in a supposedly organic batch of corn in 2005, Straus said he implemented what today has grown to be an extensive third-party testing program across his supply chain.
Without a ban, Straus said cross-pollination by GMO corn and, potentially, GMO grasses, could serve to undermine the operations of free-range dairy farmers in the region.
“Now that approximately 80 percent of the dairies in Sonoma County are certified organic, GMOs are a threat,” he said.
The ordinance would not impact genetic research conducted in controlled labs, nor would it affect treatments for humans. GMO products could still be sold and used in Sonoma County, including feed for livestock, and the rule would only apply in the unincorporated areas.
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