LANE COUNTY FIGHT CONTINUES OVER GMOS
The fight against genetically modified crops in Lane County is in the hands of Circuit
Court Judge Charles Carlson, who is expected to rule on whether the Local Food System
Ordinance complied with state constitutional requirements.
On Feb. 18, Carlson heard arguments from Eugene-based Support Local Food Rights
(SLFR) attorney Ann Kneeland and from John DiLorenzo, the lobbyist for Oregonians for
Food and Shelter, a pro-pesticide organization. Carlson requested that both attorneys submit a
draft of factual and legal findings. The deadline for that submission was Feb. 28 and a ruling
is expected soon.
“I think we feel pretty confident and optimistic,” Kneeland says. Kneeland preferred this
route for the case as opposed to having the judge rule on Feb. 18. She says that if the judge
were to rule against SLFR, the group will get feedback, which would help SLFR in writing a
more successful initiative.
Lane County is one of several in the state of Oregon attempting to ban GMO crops. On
Jan. 31, the Benton County Local Food System Ordinance was granted a victory when Coun-
ty Circuit Judge Locke Williams ruled that its measure complied with the first set of require-
ments. In Jackson County the issue of GMOs is already on the ballot and both sides have been
fundraising for the upcoming election.
Kneeland says that the Feb. 18 meeting had good outcomes as it was discovered that SB
863, which passed the Legislature in 2013, will not have as great a negative impact on SLFR
as previously thought. The bill was intended to prevent local governments from regulating
issues regarding seeds. DiLorenzo admitted during the meeting that people have the right to
vote in local elections, Kneeland says.
“It’s been our expectation from the beginning that the corporate powers behind GMOs
would fight this tooth and nail, and that’s what they’ve been doing, but it was good to hear
[their attorney] acknowledge that the preemptive law does not allow them to challenge the
initiative pre-election and that the people of Lane County are entitled to vote on this issue,”
Kneeland says.
By the time EW goes to press, there is a chance that Judge Carlson will have ruled on the
matter. Regardless of the outcome, SLFR is ready to continue to fight. — Kevin Sullivan
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He says this discussion led to a second question, which is how many violent versus non-
violent offenses have led to deportation. “Turner was very clear that is public information
and it is accessible, and we will follow up on that,” Carrasco says.
Community members and students presented a letter, read in English and Spanish, to
Turner and Doney opposing the collaboration of local law enforcement and federal immi-
gration authorities. According to UO students Paige Corich-Kleim and Monserrat Alegria,
as of Sept. 30, 2013, “this collaboration has resulted in the forced deportation of 55 people
from Lane County since the collaboration began in September 2011.”
In April 2013 the Multnomah County Commission voted to uphold Sheriff Dan Staton’s
decision to stop complying with federal immigration holds for low-level offenders in its
county jails.
Turner tells EW that “the community’s feedback in this area is important, and needs to
be heard at both the local and federal levels.” But adds that “Lane County is required to
comply with all federal laws, regardless of whether the community, Board of Commission-
ers, or the sheriff supports a particular law,” citing a potential loss of federal grant money.
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eugeneweekly.com • March 6, 2014
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