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Local Initiatives Threatened by State Legislation
As counties across the United States collect signatures for ballot intiatives on local GMO-free zones, the biotech industry is pushing legislators to put forward state laws on GMO seeds that would make local efforts null and void.
In the spirit of Pennsylvania's Senate Bill 2387, which effectively disallows local governments from passing policies, ordinances, or initiatives related to seeds including genetically modified ones (GMOs), additional state legislators backed by corporate interests are introducing laws which would preempt local democratic decision-making related to seeds.
Both North Dakota and Georgia
recently passed similar laws, and laws making any local
legislation regarding seed void and unenforceable are pending in Iowa, Oklahoma, Indiana, Idaho and Arizona. We expect several more of these bills to be introduced in other states this year.
Environmental Commons has put together a
GMO seed law preemption tracker to track these state bills.
You can also view the text of the bills using this tracker. If you live in Iowa, Arizona, Oklahoma, Idaho or Indiana, contact your representatives to defeat these bills and retain local democratic control in your community! Don't let the state take away your local rights.
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