Sonoma County supervisors put biocrop issue on Nov. 8 ballot

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Voters to decide proposed GMO ban
Sonoma County supervisors put biocrop issue on Nov. 8 ballot
Wednesday, March 2, 2005
By KERRY BENEFIELD
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

The battle over the future of genetically modified crops in Sonoma County
began in earnest Tuesday as the Board of Supervisors put the issue on the
Nov. 8 ballot.

Both supporters and foes of the proposal to ban biocrops immediately began
bracing for a high-stakes fight that will determine whether Sonoma County
becomes the fourth county in California to outlaw genetically modified
organisms, or GMOs.

"I think it is perhaps the most significant ballot initiative that voters
will have ever had the chance of voting on in Sonoma County," said Lex
McCorvey, executive director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, which
opposes the ban.

GE-Free Sonoma County, which authored the GMO ban, submitted more than
45,000 signatures - the most ever for a local initiative in Sonoma County -
to place the measure on the ballot.

Presented with a staff study that concluded it would cost the county at
least $250,000 annually to enforce the ban, county supervisors refused to
adopt the law outright Tuesday and voted 5-0 to put the GMO ban before
voters.

If Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger calls a special election before the scheduled
Nov. 8 vote, as he is proposing, the GMO question will be placed on that
ballot.

The measure would impose a 10-year ban on the growth and sale of
genetically altered crops, fish, trees, animals and other organisms in
Sonoma County. Violators who knowingly grow or raise such crops or animals
could be charged for all abatement costs and fined up to $1,000.

The initiative makes exceptions for agricultural or medical research and
exempts human food and animal feed products. The county Board of
Supervisors could amend the initiative by unanimous vote if it becomes law.

The initiative was signed by more than more than 38,000 registered voters -
or 15 percent of the almost 250,000 voters in Sonoma County.

The petition drive suggests the measure enjoys broad support, said Daniel
Solnit, campaign coordinator for GE-Free Sonoma County.

"We are starting with a vast majority of people in the county supporting
us," Solnit said. "Our job, in essence, is to hang on to most of the
support we have, which is a nice place to start from."

The county Farm Bureau, which represents 3,000 members, is leading the
opposition. The 87,000-member California Farm Bureau Federation also is
opposed.

National biotech industry groups oppose the ban but are keeping their
distance after losing a campaign in Mendocino County last year to defeat
the nation's first GMO ban. A deluge of biotech money in the Mendocino
County campaign was widely acknowledged to have backfired, leading to the
successful passage of a ban there.

The Sonoma County contest will be different, those same groups say.

"I think the biggest lesson that we learned through Mendocino is that we
are far better served in an informational role," said Sara Miller,
communications director for the Western Plant Health Association.

The Sacramento-based lobbying group for fertilizer and crop protection
manufacturers, retailers and distributors opposes the ban and contributed
to the Mendocino County campaign.

The Sonoma County Grape Growers Association has not taken an official
stance but has expressed concerns with the ban.

"This kind of technology has to be regulated at the federal level,
certainly not at the county level where you have no technical expertise,"
said Nick Frey, executive director.

The group, which represents 700 members, expects to take a formal position
next month.

ABOUT THE INITIATIVE
What would it mean: The measure would impose a 10-year ban on the growth
and sale of genetically altered crops, fish, trees animals and other
organisms in Sonoma County. Violators could face a fine of up to $1,000.
The vote: It would appear on the Nov. 8 ballot, or earlier if Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger calls for a special election.

Related stories [ http://www.pressdemocrat.com ]:
GMO report stirs dispute over county cost for ban
03/01/2005
What would Luther Burbank think?
02/06/2005
Fall vote likely on GMO ban
02/06/2005