(Food-Beverage-News.Com, June 09, 2015 ) Foley, Alabama -- On Friday, June 5, 2015, A federal judge has relatively dismissed a judicial proceedings by two local commercial alfalfa farmers in Oregon backed by biotech giant Monsanto sought to revoke the sue of Genetically Modified Organisms seeds. However, US District Judge Mark D. Clarke provided conclusions that exactly the opposite of the case. Judge Clarke held that the county's no-GMO seed ordinance will be fully effective next week. Commercial GMO farms were banned from the area to avoid GMO-laced pollen getting into the organic crops.
"Farmers have always been able to bring claims against other farmers for practices that cause actionable damage to their commercial agriculture products," Clarke wrote. "The Ordinance, by contrast, is enacted pursuant to section 30.935 [of state law], and serves to prevent such damage before it happens."
Jackson County passed its ordinance before GMO firms or giant agribusiness successfully attempted to influence official decisions through lobbying the Oregon legislature to push a law banning counties from adopting this form of anti-GMO seed law. In contrast to many anti-GMO groups across the US, Jackson County did not put its priority on requiring food labels to determine GMO contaminated ingredients. Instead, the campaigns focused on barring the use of GMO seeds in the county to prevent the pure organic crops and the heirloom seeds from being sullied.
"We just learned this afternoon that we have won the Monsanto-backed legal challenge attempting to overturn our Jackson County ban on genetically engineered crops," said an e-mail from the coalition. "The court upheld the Ordinance on the grounds that it was intended to protect against damage to commercial agricultural products, which is allowed under the Right to Farm Act, and because it was expressly allowed by the Oregon Legislature.
"While this is an incredible victory for family farmers standing up to GMOs, we do know there is a real chance Monsanto and their ilk could appeal this decision so the battle is not really over yet," they said. "Also, the Plaintiffs' claims that the GMO ban constitutes a constitutional "taking" will now have to be litigated in the second phase of the case." Monsanto is still expected to set an appeal to the district court decision to a federal appeals court.
About Victory Garden Shop
Victory Gardens Shop came from a long line of Gardeners and Farmers. The family inherited the trait of Gardening and promotes 100% organic vegetables and heirloom Seeds.
