Planting Seeds of Rebellion

Mendocino Measure H 

KEN GARCIA / SF Chronicle 16feb04

Ukiah, CA — Out on the picturesque  ranches and hillside vineyards of Mendocino County, talk of varietals and the coming growing season has switched to discussions on seed contamination and genetically altered crops.

It's a change brought on by a growing movement to keep the booming biotech agriculture industry from infiltrating the wineries that flourish in this part of Northern California, a battle that's being viewed as a bellwether for other rebellious communities around the nation.

In two weeks, voters here are poised to pass the first measure in the United States that would prohibit genetically modified plants and animals from being produced or kept in the county. It's a contest that is pitting small grape growers and organic vintners against the likes of Monsanto and other megacorporations that produce genetically modified organisms, affectionately known in the local bars and burger joints as GMOs.

County residents from Fort Bragg to Hopland seem to be relishing the fight. The number of campaign signs backing the measure outnumber those of the opposition by a huge majority. While people here seem happy to point out that marijuana is the county's No. 1 cash crop, they're serious enough to realize that positioning their wine-making ventures as healthy, unmodified businesses is a natural, if underused, marketing tool.

That's especially true for those wineries certified as organic—about one-third of the wine producers in the county—shipping products to Europe, where the movement to ban genetically altered plants is closer to a fervid revolution.

The initiative, Measure H, has gathered enough interest that many seasonal workers such as Tom Brower, who grows grapes, manages vineyards and produces lavender plant products according to the calendar, has spent the past few months volunteering as an election worker.

"Introducing GMOs to an area full of organic farms is full of dangers,'' said Brower, who lives in a cabin built for sheepherders 100 years ago on the historic Mariposa Ranch in the Redwood Valley outside of Ukiah. "Tinkering with DNA in plants and animals is like playing God for profit.''

The stakes are high enough that a coalition of the world's largest producers of genetically engineered crops has poured $150,000 into the campaign to defeat the measure, a figure that has already set spending records for elections here and is likely to swell during the coming days. But this is no ordinary political dustup—there is almost no trace of active opposition present—except for the long arm of corporate lobbying firms trying to steer public opinion and rid themselves of a pesky problem via the airwaves.

But this one appears to be building an immunity to routine lobbying efforts. In December, shortly after Mendocino County supervisors placed the initiative to ban genetically modified organisms on the ballot, an agribusiness interest group filed a lawsuit to quash the measure.

That motion was tossed out. Now the corporate plant producers have turned to a media campaign to sow seeds of dissent among local farmers, citing, among other head-scratching reasons, an increase in taxes and a loss of privacy. But their real concern is a potential loss of business and a wave of similar measures across the country. Monsanto now knows what the grass suppliers felt like when Monsanto unrolled its first layer of artificial turf.

"It's definitely put us on the map,'' said Laura Hamburg  <cell 707-621-0906 or laura@bullhornrag.com>, spokesperson for the Yes on H campaign. "We're trying to fight a giant here, and other states have found that that's not so easy.''  [ See: Fetzer Vineyards Endorses Measure H LAURA HAMBURG / Yes On Measure H 14jan04

That a famously counterculture region such as Mendocino County stands ready to defeat multinational biotech concerns is not lost on industry officials. Last year, Monsanto and some of its corporate allies spent more than $5 million on a campaign to defeat an Oregon ballot measure to label genetically modified foods.

Organic growers such as Katrina Frey, co-owner of Frey Vineyards, say they are just trying to protect their regional industry from the kinds of problems that have beset pockets of the American food industry that has largely embraced biologically engineered crops.

In one celebrated case in Canada, farmer Percy Schmeiser was discovered by Monsanto to have canola plants that had been genetically engineered to withstand the company's weed killer, even though he hadn't bought Monsanto's seed. Schmeiser said his farm was contaminated by the genetically altered strain and likely was spread by wind. But two lower courts found in Monsanto's favor and ordered Schmeiser to pay Monsanto nearly $150,000 in damages and court costs. Canada's Supreme Court is expected to rule on the controversial case in the next few months.

Such horror stories have formed the basis for the growing anti-GMO movement that has taken root in Mendocino County—and offered the reason that industry trade groups are trying to beat back the tide before other cities, states and renegade regions start waging similar campaigns.

The spin is such that when I called a Sacramento-based industry group for comment about the campaign, the return call came from the Biotechnology Industry Organization in Washington, D.C., the nation's umbrella group for all things biotech.

Their take: "We just want to make sure that farmers have an option for what they grow on their land,'' said industry spokeswoman Lisa Dry. "Our feeling is that one group shouldn't impose their philosophy on another.''

Because Monsanto and other tech titans have been imposing their considerable corporate shadow on even tiny farmers, it would appear that some philosophies are created more equal than others.

But that's the wonder of modern science. If you don't like something, you can just build a better genetically enhanced mousetrap in the lab.

E-mail Ken Garcia at kgarcia@sfchronicle.com.

source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/02/16/EDG8J4FKRM1.DTL&type=printable 17feb04