...debate over Michigan farming bill(GMO - v - organics)

[nosmokes]

original
Posted on Sun, Jan. 29, 2006

Seeds of conflict take root in debate over Michigan farming bill

DAVID EGGERT
Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. - Food is their livelihood.

But for Michelle Lutz, an organic vegetable farmer, and Herb Smith, a planter of genetically modified soybeans, the job requires more these days than simply tending their fields in St. Clair and Monroe counties.

They're on opposite sides of a budding battle in Lansing over legislation that pits natural, chemical-free crops against genetically engineered seeds. The bill not only is prompting a basic fight for economic viability among growers, it's raising questions about food safety and who should regulate it.

"We give people a unique relationship with their food," said the 34-year-old Lutz, whose 80-acre organic farm 55 miles north of Detroit ships fresh produce to 1,000 families every week from June through October. "They get to know who, how, why, where and when."

Lutz is worried, however, about legislation in the state Senate that would prevent local governments from barring the planting of seeds, including genetically modified crops. Pollen from farms with genetically modified crops can drift onto her Yale-area farm and corrupt the "organic" status of her food, she says.

Five California counties and cities have restricted growing genetically modified organisms since 2004. Fourteen states have since passed laws pre-empting similar measures in their backyards, prodded by large seed companies and an increasing number of farmers who plant their genetically modified products.
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complete article here

[gratuitous]

1. Not only can GMO product taint organic crops

But, at least in Canada, the organic grower can be sued for "stealing" the proprietary GMO product. Nice, huh?