Voters v. corporations

Measure H, an initiative that was on the March 2 ballot in Mendocino County, California, would make it illegal to propagate, cultivate, raise or grow genetically modified organisms in the county. A local paper, the Press-Democrat (Santa Rosa), reported on March 2 that

[a] consortium of the nation's biggest agribusinesses Monday reported pumping $150,000 in last-minute contributions into a campaign to defeat a Mendocino County initiative that would ban genetically engineered farm products.

CropLife America, a Washington, D.C., group representing global biotech companies, has now donated $500,000 over a two-month period to fight Measure H.

Only $5,000 of $518,000 raised by opponents came from within the country. They outspent supporters by 7-1.

The reason for the flood of money, shattering the record for spending on a ballot question in the county, was fear that success could, you'll pardon the expression, produce a bumper crop of similar resolutions elsewhere.

With funding from CropLife, Measure H opponents have mounted a carefully orchestrated campaign guided by political advisers in Sacramento and Seattle. Mendocino voters have been inundated with almost daily mailers, radio spots and local newspaper advertising attacking Measure H as poorly written and ill-founded.

The CropLife campaign has focused on themes of "government intrusion" and "higher taxes," raising questions about how the county would enforce a ban on genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. It has chosen not to contest arguments by Measure H supporters who question the adequacy of scientific research and regulatory review of GMOs.

Another well-intentioned measure doomed to defeat at the hands of a corporate-funded PR campaign.

Except:

Mendocino County voters on Tuesday were the first in the nation to ban genetically engineered crops and animals.

By a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent, they approved Measure H, an initiative pushed by the county's organic farmers....

As the paper notes, the effect is more symbolic than practical because such crops are unlikely to appear in the county for years, but supporters felt people

should take a stand in the global debate over the adequacy of safeguards surrounding a fast-emerging biotechnology industry.

The voters, not cowed by the high-profile corporate opposition, agreed.

Update: Those GM crops may appear in Mendocino County sooner than expected, based on the March 11 Christian Science Monitor.

Traditional corn, soybeans, and canola seeds available for sale to American farmers have a small percentage of genetically modified seeds mixed in with them, a new study by the Union of Concerned Scientists shows.

Intentionally or not, such contamination of traditional seeds with GM seeds could turn a future possibility into a fait accompli without our even being aware of it.