Carolanne Wright – In an era where big money is tossed around by biotech and pesticide behemoths like Monsanto, Syngenta, Dow, DuPont and others to defeat laws restricting GMOs, it’s heartening to see grassroots anti-GMO efforts making headway. The latest example involves an American federal court ruling upholding a Jackson County, Oregon ban on genetically engineered crops.

First victory

In 2014, residents of Jackson County voted by a two-to-one margin to ban the growing of genetically modified crops within their district. In the Nation article, “Beating Monsanto in the Food Fight: Oregon Counties Vote to Ban GMO Crops,” we’re given a glimpse into why the ballot measure was such an overwhelming success:

“The voters here have many generations of fruit and vegetable growing, so they’re among the most educated voters. The opposition spent a million dollars and couldn’t convince the people,” explained Chuck Burr , the president of the Southern Oregon Seed Growers Association, which describes the region’s fertile valleys as “the perfect seed growing environment.”

But it wasn’t easy. Supporters of the bill where up against the Titans of biotech, who poured substantial resources into defeating the legislation by flooding media outlets with campaigns claiming if the bill was passed, farmers would be burdened and the county budget would be consumed by enforcement costs. Of particular note is the fact that 95% of the money allotted to crush the legislation came from outside the county. As reported by the The Nation: Continue reading →