It hasn't been a good week for Monsanto and the rest of the biotech industry.
Just three days ago, Mexico banned
genetically engineered corn. Citing the risk of imminent harm to the
environment, a Mexican judge ruled that, effective immediately, no
genetically engineered corn can be planted in the country. This means
that companies like Monsanto will no longer be allowed to plant or sell
their corn within the country's borders.
At the same time, the County Council for the island of Kauai passed a law that
mandates farms to disclose pesticide use and the presence of
genetically modified crops. The bill also requires a 500-foot buffer
zone near medical facilities, schools and homes -- among other
locations.
And the big island of Hawaii County Council gave preliminary approval
to a bill that prohibits open air cultivation, propagation, development
or testing of genetically engineered crops or plants. The bill, which
still needs further confirmation to become law, would also prohibit
biotech companies from operating on the Big Island.
But perhaps the biggest bombshell of all is now unfolding in
Washington state. The mail-in ballot state's voters are already weighing
in on Initiative 522, which would mandate the labeling of genetically
modified organisms (GMOs). Knowing full well that 93 percent of the
American public supports GMO labeling, and that if one state passes it, many others are likely to follow, entrenched agribusiness interests are pulling out all the stops to try to squelch yet another state labeling effort.
This time, however, things aren't going quite as planned. On Wednesday, Washington state Attorney General Bob Feguson filed a lawsuit
against the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA). The GMA, a lobby
for the junk food industry, has been by far the largest donor to efforts
to defeat the labeling initiative. The lawsuit alleges that the GMA
illegally collected and spent more than $7 million while shielding the
identity of its contributors.(More)
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