Tensions between Jackson County growers, GMO company peaked days before beet destruction

63
comments

Tensions between Jackson County growers, GMO company peaked days before beet destruction

evo-ashland-organic.jpg
The clientele at Evo, an Ashland coffeehouse, take the matter of genetically modified organisms seriously. (Kimberly A.C. Wilson/The Oregonian)
By Kimberly A.C. Wilson, The Oregonian
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on July 15, 2013 at 4:51 PM, updated July 16, 2013 at 12:05 PM

ASHLAND -- One million dollars of beets dried where they fell, on the sandy soil of two small fields barely two miles apart on the outskirts of Ashland.

No one has taken responsibility for what the FBI has called acts of "economic sabotage": the destruction of genetically engineered crops on the nights of June 8 and June 11. A Jackson County sheriff's deputy snapped photographs of footprints left behind. Authorities said they believe "local activists" are to blame.

Turns out, it's neither difficult nor time-consuming to uproot 6,500 waist-high, 2-year-old sugar beets just about to set flowers. A local farmer mimed the action for a reporter, a moving crouch between rows of plants and a slow-motion pump of arms and grasping of fingers. Snatch-drop. Snatch-drop. Snatch-drop.

You don't have to know beets to know how to pull them up. But these beets were well-known. Infamous, really. Skirmishes over their presence began long before those two nights last month. And the battle isn't nearly over.

Controversial crop

GS.31BEET116-02.jpgView full size
 Why the beets are controversial here has as much to do with how they were formed as with the geography of Oregon's lush Rogue River Valley.

A temperate climate and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival draw tens of thousands of visitors to Jackson County each year, but seeds, not sun or soliloquies, may be among the region's breakout stars.

"The Rogue River and Applegate valleys are truly ideal for some seed crops," said John Navazio, senior scientist at Organic Seed Alliance, based in Port Townsend, Wash.

The narrow valleys, extending roughly eight miles from ridgetop to ridgetop and surrounded by the Cascades, Siskiyous and Coast Range, boast mild, dry summers and a long growing season.

Organic farmers have become increasingly influential players in the region. Their herbicide- and pesticide-free seeds find buyers as far away as Vermont.

Until last year, growers were unaware that Syngenta, a Swiss biotech company that sells Roundup-ready seeds, had been growing genetically modified beets in their midst for about a decade.

The discovery came by accident. Organic seed grower Chris Hardy was about to lease a plot of land in February 2012 when the owner happened to mention that an adjoining plot was leased to Syngenta for genetically engineered sugar beets for seed.

Small growers like Hardy, who raises seeds on tiny lots in downtown Ashland and neighboring towns, panicked. Farmers feared buyers would drop them if genetically modified beet pollen, borne on the wind, entered their table beet and chard fields.

"Within 72 hours, we'd called a meeting to bring farmers and citizens in the Rogue Valley together," Hardy said.

syngenta-beet-field.jpegView full sizeAuthorities say someone destroyed 1,000 GMO sugar beets in the second year of a two-year growth cycle in this field at the edge of Ashland city limits sometime on the night of June 11 or early the next morning.
Opponents of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, soon gathered 6,700 signatures for a 2014 ballot measure that would ban GMO plants in Jackson County altogether.

County Commissioner Don Skundrick, concerned a ban would put the county on the hook for costly GMO monitoring and enforcement, sought a way for Syngenta and other growers to co-exist.

Neighbors negotiate

Views: 570

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

tjdavis posted blog posts
12 hours ago
tjdavis commented on tjdavis's video
14 hours ago
tjdavis posted videos
14 hours ago
tjdavis posted photos
15 hours ago
Doc Vega posted blog posts
20 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post What Will happen When Robot Brides Replace Human Marriage?
"Less Prone thanks for your support Buddy! "
yesterday
Less Prone favorited tjdavis's video
Thursday
Less Prone posted a photo

Social Engineering 101

That's how it goes.
Thursday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

A Prelude to WW III ? It Seems There We Are Trailblazing Idiocy into More Blood and Destruction!

They're rolling out the 25th Amendment trying to stop Joe Biden from insanely thrusting the US in a…See More
Thursday
Less Prone posted a video

Chris Langan - The Interview THEY Didn't Want You To See - CTMU [Full Version; Timestamps]

DW Description: Chris Langan is known to have the highest IQ in the world, somewhere between 195 and 210. To give you an idea of what this means, the average...
Wednesday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

RFK Jr. Appoinment Rocks the World of the Federal Health Agncies and The Big Pharma Profits!

The Appointment by Trump as Secretary of HHS has sent shockwaves through the federal government…See More
Tuesday
tjdavis posted a video

Somewhere in California.

Tom Waites and Iggy Pop meet in a midnight diner in Jim Jarmusch's 2003 film Coffee and Cigarettes.
Tuesday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Thumbnail

1 possible 1

"It's possible, but less likely. said the cat."
Nov 18
cheeki kea posted a photo
Nov 18
tjdavis posted a blog post
Nov 18
Tori Kovach commented on cheeki kea's photo
Thumbnail

You are wrong, all of you.

"BECAUSE TARIFFS WILL PUT MONEY IN YOUR POCKETS!"
Nov 17
Tori Kovach posted photos
Nov 17
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Whatever Happened?

Whatever Happened?  The unsung heroes will go about their dayRegardless of the welcome they've…See More
Nov 17
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post A Requiem for the Mass Corruption of the Federal Government
"cheeki kea Nice work! Thank you! "
Nov 17
cheeki kea commented on Doc Vega's blog post A Requiem for the Mass Corruption of the Federal Government
"Chin up folks, once the low hanging fruit gets picked off a clearer view will reveal the higher…"
Nov 16

© 2024   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted