Chemical Companies Fight To Control Jackson and Josephine County

Political action committees are facing off over  ballot measure 15-119  to ban genetically modified crops in Jackson County have raised more than $900,000, with the bulk of that money trying to defeat the measure that goes before voters in May.

Good Neighbor Farmers, which opposes Measure 15-119 and a similar ballot measure under consideration in Josephine County, Measure #17-58, have raised $799,835 as of April 4th, according to financial information reported to the Secretary of State's Office.

According to the Secretary of State's website $464,500 of the almost $800,000 in donations opposing the measures came from major producers of herbicides and genetically modified crops. The biggest donors are Billion dollar corporations like  Bayer CropScience, BASF Plant Science, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont Pioneer, Syngenta Crop Protection and the National Corngrowers Association. And the largest donation  a whopping $183,294 came from Monsanto "Monsanto manufactured Agent Orange from 65 to 69" .

Our Family Farms (a group of more than 150 farmers) and GMO Free Jackson County, which support the ban, have raised $107,411 as of April 4th.

Organic farmers put the measures to the voters because they are afraid that wind-blown pollen from Syngenta plots will inadvertently contaminate their crops. Syngenta currently leases land in both Jackson and Josephine counties to produce seed for sugar beets genetically modified to withstand herbicides. There are other GMO crops growing in Josephine and Jackson County such as alfalfa and Bt sweet corn (which contains insecticide in every cell of the plant). Where they are growing is not known, as they are not  regulated. Syngenta has been leasing land and growing GMO's in the Valley since 2009 under the radar, using unmarked fields, and this was not in compliance with a regulatory requirement under their USDA BioTech issued permit to keep 4 miles away from other chard and beet seed growers.
My question is why would these companies who make BILLIONS care about a local ordinance?  Well, it's much larger and fishier than you might think.  
What most voters don't know is that a few months ago, as part of Gov. Kitzhaber's “grand bargain” public retirement and tax package, Gov. John Kitzhaber demanded passage of a last-minute bill prohibiting local jurisdictions from regulating genetically modified crops and seeds. And what is claimed is "If lawmakers didn’t pass the bill (SB863), Kitzhaber said, he would veto the whole package."
Jackson County’s Measure 15-119 was exempted from the bill because it already had qualified for the ballot and that is why the HUGE, multi-billion dollar companies care about our valley. They care because they want to shut down the peoples right to choose what is right for their County.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW AND NO B.S.:

1. Over 97% of the campaign funding against Measure 15-119 and #17-58 comes from outside the Rogue Valley, according to campaign finance records.
2. The law will protects farmers, including a clause that gives those who are currently growing gmo plants one year after enactment to harvest and sell their crops.
3.  There are NO new taxes or increased spending in the ordinance. The Measure gives the County "the authority” to enforce the Measure, but it doesn't mandate the County to spend a single dime. IT WILL NOT DIVERT MONEY FROM LIBRARIES AND OTHER ESSENTIAL SERVICES. 
4. County Administrator Danny Jordan stated in a recent County Commissioners’ meeting on 3/19/2014 in regards to the estimated cost of enforcing the Measure:
    "I said at least six times in the presentation that this could cost zero dollars."
                                                                                                          - RVTV 14, 3/19/14 County Commissioners’ meeting
5. Cross pollination between GMO and non-GMO plants can move artificial genes around and alter the dna of a plant. Farmers should have the right to farm without the threat of GMO contamination. Pollen from GMO crops is pervasive and threatens traditional crops. Cross pollination between crops will make it impossible to grow Organic crops, especially for farmers who grow Organic seed for profit. The long-term impacts of GMOs are unknown, and once released into the environment these novel organisms cannot be recalled.
6. Conventional - Traditional and GMO are not the same. GMOs are living things that have been artificially modified so that they contain genes from different species like fish. This is a completely different process from natural breeding (traditional-conventional), which can only take place between closely related forms of life tomatoes with tomatoes, but not tomatoes with fish. 
7.  GMO'S Are Bad For Our Environment: According to a report by Charles Benbrook, a research professor at the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources at Washington State University. Herbicide use has increased since 1996 when GMO crops were introduced by 527 million pounds while insecticide use has only decreased by 28%. These poisons contaminate the air we breathe, the water we drink and contaminate our food. 
8.  The measure does NOT affect a homeowner's lawn, carnations, or medical marijuana.
9.  Multi- Billion Dollar Chemical giants Monsanto and Syngenta, have given 28% of the Farm Bureau’s political budget since 2006. So don't think the Bureau is going to back up the little guy.
10.  Polls consistently show that a significant majority of North Americans would like to be able to tell if the food they’re purchasing contains GMOs (a 2012 Mellman Group poll found that 91% of American consumers wanted GMOs labeled). And, according to a recent CBS/New York Times poll, 53% of consumers said they would not buy food that has been genetically modified.

Read More About 15-119 At Jackson Counties Website HERE