A Lane County group chose Earth Day for their latest legal move. Today (Tuesday) “Support Local Food Rights” filed its third attempt at an ordinance to protect area farms and limit certain agricultural practices.
Last month, a judge ruled that the previous version of the Lane County Local Food System Ordinance did not comply with pre-election requirements. Attorney Ann Kneeland says the county now has five days to decide if this newest incarnation is acceptable.
Kneeland: “If they determine it complies, the county will have a period of time to draft a ballot title.”
Kneeland says the initiative seeks to protect residents’ rights to share and save seeds and prohibit unsustainable corporate practices like GMO’s and seed patents.
Kneeland: “I think the community is becoming increasingly aware that with the introduction of genetically modified organisms in our food system, all of these things that we value and that are at the heart of our local economy are jeopardized and threatened.”
Kneeland says it’s up to communities to pass laws to protect local agriculture. Her group will attempt to gather 8,800 signatures to get the initiative on the ballot.
