How would farmers in SLO County be affected if GE crops were allowed?
If GE crops (GMOs) were grown in San Luis Obispo County: • Farmers could have their crops contaminated with DNA from genetically engineered sources • Farmers would suffer losses in sales and in the well-earned trust of the purity of crops grown in this county • Farmers would no longer have the economic advantage in international and national markets of guaranteed GE-free produce. • SLO residents would also lose the right to buy locally grown produce that was free of contamination by DNA from genetically engineered crops. The industry often suggests that this kind of thing doesn’t happen. One industry executive testifying in a lawsuit said that she thought “you would be more likely to get pregnant from a toilet seat than for a genetically engineered crop to contaminate a neighboring farm.” Obviously she chose to ignore basic biological facts, as well as the experience of contamination over the past 7 years across North America, where weeds have now taken on DNA from up to 3 different ty
