Your continued activism is continuously paying off, with GMO bans growing nationally and around the world. Los Angeles, California is certainly doing their utmost to be one of the first, and largest non-GMO zones in the U.S. Following the lead of its neighbor across the border, Mexico and its recent ban on GMOs, L.A. is now considering a city-wide ban to curb the growth and proliferation of GMO seeds within its borders. While the ban would not include the sale of food containing GMO, it would protect local gardens and city-grown (local) food from being contaminated with GMO seed crops.
Paul Koretz, L.A. City Councilman and Mitch O’Farrell introduced the motion last Friday, and there is wide spread support for its continuance.
Most of the GMO seed that is in L.A. is in Big Ag farms, large-scale, multiple acre crops—not in small farms or local gardens. But L.A. people want to protect their gardens and family farms from GMO cross-pollinization.
“The pending ordinance would be symbolic more than anything else, but we do feel it’s an important step to have the second-largest city in the nation declare itself as against genetically modified seeds,”said head of Learning Garden and Seed Library of LA David King, who assisted in creating the motion.
The ban would be symbolic, but it might protect home-grown food and people who are already trying to become more food sovereign by growing their own.
One of California’s main crops, almonds, has recently been subjected to devastation due to the pesticides used by Monsanto, Dow and other Big Ag companies. Many fear the pesticide use has decimated bees which are responsible for pollinating almond crops. More than 80 percent of the U.S. almond supply has previously come from California. This and other problems are referenced by those supporting the ban. GMOs creation of the “superbug” along with “seed drift” which contaminated farms in Oregon are also cause for concern for Californians.
While some smaller cities have been able to ban GMOs through municipal ordinances, L.A. would be the first big city to successfully ban GMOs and really act as a poster child for the cause in the U.S. Considering the current stand-still on a vote to label GMOs in Washington, Prop 522, cities might increasingly be successful if state and federal laws, influenced by Big Ag, aren’t responsive to the grassroots voice of NO GMO!
