Boulder County In Colorado To Phase Out GMO Crops
In March of 2016, staff in Colorado’s Boulder County were asked to draft a plan to rid county-owned land of genetically modified crops in the near future. The Board of County Commissioners believes this is in the best interest of their people. We agree. Go Boulder!
Tenant farmers have been allowed to grow certain types of GM sugar beets and corn since 2011 and conventional farmers believe that these crops are both safe and help to reduce the amount of water and pesticides used (the biotech industry makes the same claims). Therefore, not everyone wants to see this plan to its fruition.
Dan Lisco, president of the Farmers Alliance for Integrated Resources (FAIR), is one such person. He believes that science has proven the safety of GMOs however, there have been many studies to the contrary- like the long-term study done in the US by Charles Benbrook. His study found that, “Contrary to often-repeated claims that today’s genetically-engineered crops have, and are reducing pesticide use, the spread of glyphosate-resistant weeds in herbicide-resistant weed management systems has brought about substantial increases in the number and volume of herbicides applied.” Just how much? “Herbicide-resistant crop technology has led to a 239 million kilogram (527 million pound) increase in herbicide use in the United States between 1996 and 2011.”
While the phase out should happen as a partnership with the farmers and may take some time, it’s likely that some of them may still look into ways to legally overturn the commissioners’ plan. But, for now, organic farming advocates are happy and looking forward to cleaning growing in their county.
Source: Natural Society
