Voters Reject Biotech Ban in California County, NCGA Notes (11-10-05)

Voters in Sonoma County, Calif., sent a strong message to opponents of biotechnology, as they defeated Measure M, a law that would have placed a 10-year moratorium on the cultivation, sale or distribution of biotech crops, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) notes.

The measure failed 55.6 to 44.4 percent. Marin, Mendocino and Trinity counties in California have banned biotech crops. More than 12 counties, however, have passed resolutions that support biotech crops, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, a newspaper that wrote an editorial suggesting voters reject the measure.

“This indicates that consumers, when given a choice, support biotechnology and believe the sound science supporting it,” said Paul Bertels, NCGA director of biotechnology. “This is one of the first real challenges to biotech in a big agricultural county, and it passed the test.”

NCGA supports the development of internationally accepted, science-based threshold standards and demands all biotechnology providers to fully engage all regulatory options ad stewardship practices for biotech events.