Zombie Attack on North Carolina Organics

NC Department of Agriculture brings 2005 Frankenfood legislation back from the dead.

by Fawn Pattison, Executive Director

Photo by Grmisiti via Flickr

The NC Department of Agriculture has revived a bill from 2005 that directly threatens organic agriculture and small farmers in North Carolina. H 379,“Clarify Board of Ag Authority/Plants,” uses an innocuous title to launch an offensive on anyone who grows a crop in North Carolina without a corporate patent on it. Rep. Langdon (R-Johnston), chair of the Agriculture Committee, has filed the bill in the NC House of Representatives.

Here we go again. A nearly identical bill called “Plant Regulation” was filed on behalf of the NC Department of Agriculture in 2005. Like its undead counterpart, H379 would prevent any government entities – local governments in particular – from enacting any ordinance or legislation to restrict the sale or cultivation of any plant in NC, reserving that authority solely for the NC Board of Agriculture. 

Here’s a good question… Why?

Have any North Carolina cities or counties attempted to restrict genetically-modified crops, the way four California counties did in 2004? No. But that’s what triggered this inane legislation the first time around, when identical language was enacted into law in 15 different states.

So what’s the problem?

Genetic material from GMO crops can contaminate neighboring crops:

• Monsanto and other companies have aggressively defended their patents, to the point of suing farmers for patent infringement when they save and re-plant seeds that have been contaminated with genetic material from neighboring crops.
• Genetic drift can make a farmer’s crop unsaleable in places like the European Union, which has tougher restrictions on GMO crops. Genetic drift can also harm a farmer’s organic certification.

The bill also has fallout for local governments, who would be prevented from restricting the sale or cultivation of invasive species that may be affecting them locally. It could even prevent local governments from enacting notification policies to protect organic farmers from genetic drift, according to the Center for Rural Affairs.

When this legislation was first introduced in 2005, the NC Senate inserted language to protect small farmers and organic neighbors from the potential damage. The result? The bill was killed, and Dr. Frankenstein returned defeated to his lab… apparently to wait for a more favorable environment in which to raise this bill from the dead.
 
The effect of H 379 will be to further concentrate corporate control over food and farming. It’s clear why a bill like this might be good for the likes of Monsanto, but how is it really good for farmers?