April
15th,
2013
Lumby – On April 15th, Area D of RDNO has overwhelmingly said NO to Genetically Modified Crops,
joining Cherryville and the more than 60 other BC communities who have supported
a resolution in favour of banning GMO crops. While declaring a community a GMO
FREE zone is not a bylaw it makes everyone understand the level of opposition to
GM crops.
Three weeks ago, Bee SAFE, a local
volunteer group started by Huguette Allen, Jane Emlyn and Carla Vierke, held a
public meeting at the Lumby Community hall to discuss how GMO crops affect other
crops and why they're being banned in many regions. Lately, Vancouver Island and
51 Coastal Communities have all voted in favour of being GM crop
free.
“GMO crops were accepted in our
communities without people's knowledge and contamination is occurring without
people's consent. There is no co-existence possible between GMO crops and other
crops – by not deciding to ban them, we're deciding to ban every other type of
agriculture and to put the future of our food and our farms in the hands of
corporations like Monsanto, who own patents on GMO seeds” said Huguette
Allen.
Along with a presentation and discussion, Bee SAFE
asked the public to cast a vote to show whether they were in favour of passing a
resolution to ban GMO crops in their community. Looking at the vote results,
Carla Vierke said: "It's
scary to see that had we not called for a vote, 7% of rural Lumby voters and 4%
of Cherryville voters would have decided on the future of our communities. It is
a very clear example that by not making a choice, you are in fact making a
choice.”
Out of 405 votes cast, 293 were from
area D, 53 from Lumby and the rest from neighbouring communities. Area D voted
92.8% in favour of a ban. “If people had not been pro-active and the GMO
trend had continued, it would soon have become impossible for anyone to grow
organic or conventional crops" said Jane Emlyn. "The solution now is to support
diversified farming, to develop a resilient economy based on health, quality of
life & protection of the environment."
For more information:
Huguette Allen
250-547-0272
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