Seeds of change
By Envision Magazine on March 6, 2014
Jackson County plays pivotal role in the future of GMO legislation in the state of Oregon
Story by La’akea Kaufman
Photos by Kathryn Boyd-Batstone
Multimedia by Michi Nakashima
*This article was updated on April 4, 2014.
In June of last year, a group of Jackson County residents took matters into their own hands by committing what the FBI called “economic sabotage.” In just two nights’ time, around 6,000 genetically modified beets were destroyed on separate plots of land just outside the city of Ashland, according to the FBI statement.
This sudden and unforeseen act of rebellion against genetically modified organisms, better known as GMO crops, sparked national attention and stirred up conversation in the county. Shortly afterward, a group of concerned citizens drafted what would later be known as Measure 15-119, a citizen initiative that would effectively ban the growth of genetically engineered plants in Jackson County. GMO here refers to an organism whose genes have been genetically manipulated in order to achieve specific physiological traits or biological products from the organism.
More than 6,700 signatures were collected to put this measure on the ballot, and the issue will go to the voters this year in the May 20th, 2014 election.
Jackson County can be found nestled within the Rogue Valley; a relatively small region where the largest cities include Medford and Ashland. More than 10,000 acres of land in Jackson County are used for growing a variety of crops such as pears, berries, tomatoes, corn, oat, and wine grapes. Recently, concern from both the public and the farmers in the region has been voiced over an uninvited guest growing in the area: genetically modified sugar beets.
Residents learned in early 2012 that Syngenta, a Swiss biotechnology company, was growing GM beets within their county. Citizens across Jackson County began to question the effects of growing genetically modified seeds in a region that prides itself on its cultivation of organic and heirloom seeds.
“Some people are anti-GMO and some people just want to raise their crops, sell it, and be left alone.”
– Bob Bradford
Although crop contamination seems to be the main concern, other county residents cited grievances over protecting the organic certification that many farms in the area strive to maintain, as well as possible health risks of growing and consuming genetically modified crops.
Science on the effects of GMOs is limited, but a few studies have been done on pollen transfer and pollen dispersal of sugar beets in the field. Studies done by Yves Vigouroux of the University of Research and Development in France concluded that, “The potential for sugar beet pollen to become airborne, and remain airborne over considerable distances, is high.”
Statistics from 2012 show that 92 percent of farms operating in Jackson County are either individually or family owned, many of which solely produce organic crops. This pollen transfer is harmful in the sense that it could cross-contaminate with neighboring farms’ crops and create a product that farmers hadn’t desired to make or sell. For organic farmers specifically, it could cost them their organic certification and likely their business if GMO pollen ends up in their product or is found to be growing on their land.
Matt Suhr and Aluna Michelle of HappyDirt Veggie Patch in Medford cite this as one of their major concerns for their farm. “The big ones around here that caused the real brouhaha was sugar beets, because they’re also the same species as Swiss chard. So basically, all the beets and chard will cross-pollinate because it’s a wind pollinated crop, so it can go for miles and miles,” Suhr says.
Michelle echoes his message, “Because of the nature of seed growing and pollen transference, all of us seed growers and seed savers, our fates are locked,” she says.
Jackson County citizens aren’t the only ones making their stake in the fight on GMOs. While Jackson County residents were collecting signatures to vote on this issue, Oregon state legislature was drafting a bill to eliminate their ability to do so. Senate Bill 863, which many citizens now refer to as “Oregon’s Monsanto Protection Act,” prevents Oregon counties from voting on and individually regulating any kind of agricultural seed, including GMO seed.
A loophole was created when Jackson County was able to collect the allotted amount of signatures to put their citizen’s initiative on the 2014 ballot before the SB 863 protection act was made effective in October of 2013. This means that Jackson County is the only county in the state of Oregon that can legally vote on GMO regulation in their area.
Daniel Greenblatt, owner of Greenleaf Restaurant in Ashland, says that there is strong support to ban GMO crops among his clientele. “I’m in the food business, and people do not want GMO food,” Greenblatt says.
Some of the biggest opponents of measure 15-119 are the Oregon Farm Bureau, who have contributed $25,000 to the opposition, and the Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative who have contributed $20,000. These organizations, along with a few others, have contributed $75,000 so far in an attempt to defeat the measure. The Oregonian reported that companies such as Monsanto, Syngenta, and other biotechnology companies have donated $455,000 to defeat the measure.
Greenblatt is unsure whether the measure will pass come May, but says he has only seen support for the ban from his community.
“I’m sure there are some people who are pro-GMO, but that’s pretty corporate-driven. It’s always gonna hurt the small farmers,” he says.
Bob Bradford is one of those small farmers, but has a different take on Measure 15-119 than many might think. He is the owner of Bradford family farms, a 120-acre farm in Rogue River. Bradford, who studied as a chemist before delving into the agriculture industry, is not entirely convinced that GMO crops are all that harmful.
“I have a hard time finding a real problem with it,” says Bradford. “I think the scientific evidence is pretty thin to just go out and ban it.”
Bradford believes that most of the support for Measure 15-119, referred to among proponents as “the family farms measure,” is coming from the two largest cities in Jackson County: Ashland and Medford. Says Bradford, “Some people are anti-GMO and some people just want to raise their crops, sell it, and be left alone.”
“It’s important even in the midst of all of these battles that we step back and gain a larger picture to create and realize what we as a community want.”
– Aluna Michelle of HappyDirt Veggie Patch
Chris Hardy, chief petitioner of Measure 15-119 and founder of Our Family Farms Coalition in southern Oregon, disagrees with that. “By far, this entire valley is standing united in this effort,” Hardy says.
Hardy has been working to get this legislation going for nearly two years now, in what he calls a true grassroots effort. He started the Our Family Farms Coalition in an effort to unite farmers in Jackson County who wanted to speak out about their opposition to genetically engineered crops. Since then, Hardy has connected hundreds of farms and businesses who have all declared their support for the initiative, and educated them on the issues.
“To pass this measure, we are insuring a future for our family farms in southern Oregon,” Hardy says. “We have hundreds of supporters of this initiative. Knowing that speaks volumes to our community. Every day it continues to grow.”
Suhr and Michelle of HappyDirt Veggie Patch, have contributed to that growth. Both are members of the Coalition and supporters of the measure.
“As vegetable growers, it matters to us,” Michelle says. “All of the values that underlie our entire operation, our entire enterprise here, are in many ways challenged by the existence of GMO crops. ”
Both the opposition and the proponents of this measure have plenty of time to reach voters across the county before election day.
For Michelle, though, it’s about coming together and deciding what’s best for everyone, as a community. “It’s important even in the midst of all of these battles that we step back and gain a larger picture to create and realize what we as a community want,” she says. “If we’re constantly just fighting just reacting to different measures that come our way, it’s hard to ensure that we’ll really find what we want in the end.”
Follow this writer @LaakeaKaufman