Oregon Legislature Steals Ball Then Drops It

After Jackson County banned the open cultivation of genetically engineered crops and three other counties moved forward on similar bans, the Oregon legislature passed 863 which preempted local decisions about agriculture, reserving that privilege to the state. Governor Kitzhaber appointed a stellar taskforce at a cost of more than $100,000 over six months to study the matter, presumably to formulate a state plan to deal with the problems.

News out of Salem indicates that the legislature is prepared to do nothing with the authority they granted to themselves. Two House bills, which grew out of the work of the taskforce, have received an “icy reception” from the House Committee on Rural Communities, Land Use and Water.

Currently, there is no way for Oregon farmers to know if their neighboring farmers are planting genetically engineered crops. These two bills would rectify that situation, carve out GE free areas, and bring the transparency necessary for all farmers to protect their respective market share.

House Bill 2674 would require the State Department of Agriculture to “establish control areas for growing commodities that are genetically engineered agricultural or horticultural plant products.”House Bill 2675 would require “certain merchants to provide State Department of Agriculture with copies of royalty agreements signed by purchasers of propagants of proprietary genetically engineered crops".

Both of these bills are sponsored by Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Eugene. HB 2674 addresses the current problem of the significant risk run by conventional and organic farmers of contamination via genetically engineered pollen or rogue plants which can ruin their respective markets. HB 2675 addresses the secrecy surrounding GE crop cultivation which hampers non-GE farmers in planning for the crops they grow.

Corn is a high value crop and one prized here locally. Corn is wind pollinated and the pollen is small and travels far. Farmers with non-GE markets have to literally “bet their farm” on a guess as to what their neighbors are growing. The 2013 discovery of GMO wheat in a Pacific Northwest wheat field resulted in the collapse of the Asian wheat market for which Monsanto made a $2.4 million settlement--a prime example of the harm just one single GE contamination incident can cause. The damage to trust in the Oregon Brand, as far as wheat goes, is incalculable.

The opposition to these two bills is from both sides of the aisle.

But committee chairman Brian Clem, D-Salem, said he thinks the real problem is with “the illogic of Europe.”

“This is probably mostly about the consumers’ buying behavior and conditions of the European Union and Asia,” Clem said.

Rep. Clem does not address how he plans to change the Asian and EU importation regulations or affect consumer choice which currently ban GE crop importation or why he seems unable to grasp simple marketplace realities.  

Another Democrat on the committee, Rep. Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie, said neighboring farmers should be able to work out conflicts among themselves.

“As a general overall policy, I am extremely concerned when we start down the pathway to what crops does the state of Oregon determine are OK for farmers to grow,” Witt said.

Rep. Witt seems to forget that the legislature took this issue out of the hands of local farmers who wanted to "work something out" on the county level. It should be noted that 863 (coined "Oregon's Monsanto Protection Act") was not passed during the regular session due to public outcry but was attached to an appropriations bill as a bribe to get Republicans to vote for it. (See Daily KOS diary Oregon GMO Sellout for an in depth account of how this played out.)

The response from a Republican committee member offers this clueless gem.

Rep. Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, said he is confused by cross-contamination fears.

“If (cross-contamination) occurred prior to genetically engineered plants, then how did the state survive 156 years of being one of the best agricultural states in the country?” he asked. “What’s broke that needs fixing?”

McLane's answer to "what's broke that needs fixing?" is contained in his previous sentence "prior to genetically engineered plants".  Asian markets readily import BT cotton and animal feed; however, the consumer markets reject any GMO product meant to go directly into their food.

The dog and pony show of Oregon's Monsanto Protection Act with the state "taking charge" of the problem was greeted with dismay by those farmer's daily affected by this conflict. However, it was barely a speed bump to efforts in the counties which were working on local solutions:

Jackson County's GMO cultivation ban passed by 66%.

Josephine placed their initiative on the ballot and won by 57%.

Lane County is persevering with their own local food system ordinance.

Benton County's Local Food Ordinance is on the May ballot, and backers are expecting an even higher percentage of yes votes. See the Yes on 2-89 website for more information or to donate to this grassroots campaign.

See below the orange legislative run around for the summary of both bills.