Missouri Senate considers ban on local regulations for genetically modified crops
Friday, March 24, 2006 2:34 PM CST
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A two-year-old ordinance from a Northern California county has some Missouri lawmakers worried that local regulation of genetically modified crops could hamper agriculture's future in the state.
Voters in Mendocino County, Calif., approved a first-in-the-nation measure to prohibit genetically modified plants and animals in March 2004. Since then, 14 states have barred local regulation of the types of seeds farmers can use, and another five -- including Missouri -- are considering bans.
The Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday approved a bill that would give the state responsibility for the "registration, labeling, sale, storage and planting of seeds." It would also bar local governments and the state from adopting regulations that exceed federal requirements. A similar bill is pending in a House committee.
With half of the states bordering Missouri adopting or considering bans on local regulations, state Sen. David Klindt said Missouri risks falling behind its neighbors in the race to attract agricultural industries and research if local governments enact more restrictive regulations.
"We need to continue to send a very clear message that Missouri is very open to biotechnology, because not only will farmers have the ability to produce food, but we will be able to heal people," said Klindt, a farmer who sponsored the bill.
After first trying unsuccessfully to grow genetically modified crops in southeast Missouri, a Sacramento, Calif.-based biotechnology company announced it was relocating to Klindt's district in northwest Missouri.
Ventria Bioscience planned to cultivate rice containing human genes that would produce proteins used in drugs. But delays in state financing prompted the company to drop its plans.
State Sen. Rob Mayer said biotechnology has a promising future, but not when it comes to Missouri's rice.
Mayer, a Republican who opposes the bill, said banning all local regulation increases the chances that genetically engineered rice could cross-pollinate with other food crops. He said it could also leave rice farmers unable to sell their product. Some brewers, baby food makers and cereal companies have refused to buy rice that has been genetically altered.
Nick Kalaitzandonakes, an agricultural economist at the University of Missouri-Columbia, said it costs between $7 million and $15 million for researchers to meet federal biotechnology regulations.
"Would you let every municipality decide how much fluoride they want to put in the water? Would you let them decide independently whether they drive on the left side or the right side of the road?" Kalaitzandonakes asked. "There are some things that in the absence of a homogenous standard become too expensive to function."
Some environmentalists and at least one consumer group argue that federal regulations are consistent because they're almost nonexistent.
Rhonda Perry, program director for the Missouri Rural Crisis Center in Columbia, said there aren't localized efforts in the state to regulate biologically engineered seeds, so the bill would needlessly trump local control.
"We, as local citizens, will be giving up all our rights," she said.
On the Net:
Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov
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