 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| October 2004 FWA Opposes Butte County Measure DThe Family Water Alliance Board of Directors unanimously voted in support of the efforts of Citizens for Accountable Agriculture (CAA) to oppose Butte County Measure D, a ballot initiative to ban the use of genetically engineered crops, livestock and other organisms. CAA has accurately portrayed Measure D as "a solution looking for a problem." Citizens for Accountable Agriculture is a community coalition that includes farmers, teachers, doctors, scientists and parents working to defeat Measure D, thus ensuring that Butte County’s agriculture and food supply is not held captive by the political agenda of special interest groups from outside of the region. CAA is concerned that "Measure D would empower unelected officials to confiscate and destroy crops or slaughter livestock that utilize biotechnology". It would "ban the growing of current rice varieties preferred in the export market" that are being grown locally. They also point out that biotechnology enables farmers to provide food with enhanced nutrition at less expense for consumers, while simultaneously serving as an important mechanism to allow for greater care of the environment. Measure D would serve to ban "the same technology used in the vaccine for West Nile Virus, Insulin, and the treatment of AIDS". Also, CAA contends the costs associated with implementing Measure D "would take over $100,000 from police and fire stations in order to monitor and confiscate the crops of our local farms, while public safety departments face $22 million in unmet needs". Scientists and organizations ranging from the American Medical Association to the National Academy of Sciences to the World Health Organization have concluded that biotech crops pose no unique safety risks. It should also be noted that crops bred through biotechnology undergo thorough review from a number of government agencies before they can by planted, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Food and Drug Administration, thus assuring that the proper oversight in regard to biotech products is occurring at several levels. Additionally, CAA points out that Measure D "creates the same laws used by foreign governments to shut American farmers out of the export markets. These laws are based on politics, not science." The efforts of CAA are also supported by the Butte County Farm Bureau, Butte County Rice Growers Assoc., Red Top Rice, California Cattlemen, California Rice Commission and California Women In Agriculture. FWA commends CAA and supports its efforts in opposing this imprudent measure. Farmers should be free to employ new and accepted technology in their efforts to cultivate crops in an efficient, economical, and environmentally sound manner. |
|
|