FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2017
VOLUME 90, NUMBER 7
WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM
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ORGANIC
FARMING
AT A CROSSROADS
Some organic purists still want to battle the ‘Empire,’ but the market
seems to be adjusting to the presence and infl uence of ‘Big Ag.’
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
A
t this point, maybe organic producers and processors should just declare
victory.
They’ve won, haven’t they? Sales of organic products show dou-
ble-digit growth year after year. Consumers increasingly associate
organics with safer food and better nutrition, health, soil and plants,
not to mention more humane treatment of livestock and better conditions for
farmworkers.
That little green USDA Organic symbol on a package says this costs more
because it’s special. And it’s all delivered by a chemical-free small farm worked
by a smiling couple and their beautiful brood of happy children.
Right?
Well, sure, to a certain extent.
But within the organic community, some worry the movement — and that’s
how many see it, as a movement — will lose its soul as “Big Ag” takes over
organic production and snaps up small organic processors.
“If we continue to mainstream, is there anything left of what was organic, or
do we just become product manufacturers?” asked Oregon organic pioneer David
Lively.
Turn to ORGANIC, Page 12
“
If we continue to mainstream,
is there anything left of
what was organic, or do
we just become product
manufacturers?”
David Lively, Oregon organic pioneer
Inslee administration: More people need more public land
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
OLYMPIA — A Washington Farm
Bureau lobbyist told lawmakers they
should “draw a line” and halt the
growth in state-owned lands, though
an adviser to Gov. Jay Inslee said pub-
lic recreation areas should expand as
the population grows.
House Bill 1008, introduced by
Rep. Matt Shea, R-Spokane Valley,
would require state agencies to sell
land at least as fast as they buy it.
Recreation groups, such as Trout
Unlimited and the Rocky Mountain
Elk Foundation, criticized the legisla-
tion during a hearing Feb. 10 in front
of the House Capital Budget Commit-
tee.
State agencies also lined up against
the proposal. Jon Snyder, the gover-
nor’s policy adviser on outdoor rec-
reation and economic development,
said the state budget offi ce projects
Washington will grow by 1 million
people in the next decade.
The state probably will need to
acquire more property to keep rec-
reation areas from becoming over-
crowded, he said.
Rep. Richard DeBolt, R-Cheha-
lis, asked Snyder, “So is your opin-
ion, if we grow in population, we
have to grow in public lands?”
Snyder said that was a “natural
assumption.”
“If we do grow, the possibility
for needing more public lands does
increase,” said Snyder, who said he
Turn to LAND, Page 12
Leader Lake
Campground in
the Loup Loup
State Forest
is among the
land in public
ownership in
Okanogan County
in north-central
Washington.
Courtesy of Washington Department of Natural Resources
Bill seeks reversal of Oregon GMO pre-emption
Legislation would allow local governments to regulate biotech crops
Capital Press
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
Elise Higley of the Our Family Farms
Coalition speaks at a recent press con-
ference in support of House Bill 2469.
Biotech critics are calling on Oregon
lawmakers to overturn a prohibition
against local government restrictions on
genetically engineered crops because
statewide regulations haven’t been en-
acted.
In 2013, the Oregon Legislature
passed a law that pre-empted cities and
counties from setting their own rules
over seeds, which blocked most local
ordinances banning genetically modi-
fi ed organisms, or GMOs.
Groups that opposed the pre-emp-
tion bill say state inaction since then has
justifi ed the passage of House Bill 2469,
which would carve out an exemption al-
lowing local GMO regulations.
“Oregon farmers can’t wait another
four years to protect themselves from
this harm,” said Amy van Saun, a legal
fellow at the Center for Food Safety
nonprofi t group.
Van Saun said measures are needed
to prevent cross-pollination of conven-
tional and organic crops with biotech
Turn to GMO, Page 12
7-1/#14
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI