Like those little burrs, we're really irritating to "the opposition" -- there's a whole lot of us, we hang on tight, sometimes we're kinda prickly, and our influence is only spreading! (and Roundup doesn't work on us!)
Our ordinance is still alive, it is still in committee, and we aim to gather EVEN MORE PUBLIC SUPPORT for 2015.
OUR STRATEGY:
Revised strategy as of January 1, 2015 is accessible to members only.
TOOLS for working with your community:
Toolkit - December 2014:
- FAQs about the GMO-Free Zone in L.A.
- Graphic explanation of the GMO-Free Zone in L.A.
- 21 Reasons We Need a GMO-Free Zone in L.A.
- Addressing 13 Myths about a GMO-Free Zone in L.A.
- Enforcement Q&A
- The text of the Ordinance (law begins on pdf page 4)
Tools we used prior to December:
- Petition (pdf) - The pdf package includes a copy of our FAQs, which are useful in answering questions from the general public
- Petition package in Spanish (pdf)
- Endorsement letter (doc) - a one-page letter which can be copied onto a company's letterhead, or a nonprofit organization's letterhead, to tell Councilmembers about their support for the motion.
- Quickie endorsement form, which businesses can print, sign, and staple on a business card (doc)
- Caller script in English (pdf) - a half-sheet handout which can be given out to the general public as you encourage them to place phone calls to their Councilmember's office. Tells what to say and gives phone numbers.
- Caller script in Spanish (pdf)
- Mailing list - Organizers, please add your name to the mailing list. That way when there are important announcements, we can contact you!
- Talking Points (pdf) - If you are going to see your Councilmember, or if you are asked to make a presentation, these are the campaign's talking points
- Motion status - you can check the status of the motion (#13-1374) on the City Clerk's website here
GMO Laws
Already declared GMO-free:
(list last updated Nov. 2014)
- Arcata, CA (ordinance)
- Humboldt County, CA (Nov 2014 ordinance | about)
- Lake County, CA (2010 ordinance - status unclear | about )
- Mendocino County, CA (since 2004: about | about | law)
- Marin County, CA (about | text of measure | code?)
- Point Arena, CA (ordinance)
- San Juan County, WA (since 2012: about | code)
- Santa Cruz County, CA (May 2014: about | code?)
- Trinity County, CA (since 2004: about | code)
- Jackson County, OR (about | law)
- Rogue County, OR* (May 2014, about)
- Josephine County, OR* (ordinance)
- Monteville, ME (ordinance)
- Maui County, HI (temporary ban, passed Nov 2014: about | about | text)
- Hawaii County, HI (two bans: about)
- Kauai County, HI (ban passed, overturned: about)
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is phasing out use of GE crops, system-wide, to meet wildlife objectives (official memo, July 2014)
- Grassroots campaigns are underway in: Boulder County, CO; state of Idaho; Jackson County, FL; Monterey County, CA (status); Portland, OR; state of Texas; Lane County, OR (about); Benton County, OR (about)
* approved at county-level despite the fact that Oregon state-level SB 863 prohibits counties other than Jackson County from banning GMOs.
Labeling initiatives have passed in:
Text of Arcata, CA ordinance "City of Arcata Genetically Engineered Organisms Ordinance," Health & Sanitation chapter 10
Labeling initiatives have passed in:
- Vermont (about)
- Maine (law)
- Connecticut (about)
- Hallendale, FL (Sept 2014 resolution: about)
- labeling initiatives failed in Colorado (about), Oregon (about), California
Other tools:
- article outlining the Regulatory deficiencies at the Federal level
- "Genetic Engineering (GE): A Report form the GE Subcommittee of the Public Health Commission," Health Services Agency, Couty of Santa Cruz, May 2006
- Calif AB 2470 - not effective till Jan 2015 (legislative tracker | text)
Text of Arcata, CA ordinance "City of Arcata Genetically Engineered Organisms Ordinance," Health & Sanitation chapter 10
excerpt: "It is unlawful for any person, partnership, corporation, firm or organization of any kind to sell, distribute, propagate, cultivate, raise or grow seeds or crops of genetically engineered organisms in the City of Arcata, and any act in violation of this provision is declared to constitute a public nuisance"
Several cities in British Columbia have declared themselves to be GE-Free Zones. The first was the city of Richmond. Read their city council discussion.
“The City of Richmond hereby opposes the cultivation of genetically engineered plants and trees in the City of Richmond, with the exception of the 3 existing dairy farm GMO corn crops found prior to this Resolution, and that from this Resolution forward, no further GM crops, trees, or plants should be grown in the City of Richmond. This also includes GM fruit trees, all GM plants and shrubbery, GM vegetables, GM commodity
Gabriela Pechlaner, "GMO-free America? Mendocino County and the Impact of Local Level Resistance to the Agricultural Biotechnology Paradigm." 6 July 2012, Int. Jrnl. of Soc. of Agr. & Food, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 445–464 (pdf) ... a scholarly article that may shed some light on enforceability
- list of GMO-related laws with excerpts and links
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