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Colorado Town Bans GMOs on Leased Farmland

(30 August - Cropchoice News) -- A municipal panel in Boulder, Colorado has adopted a new policy to ban biotech crops from city land. The City of Boulder owns about 33,000 acres of open space, of which over 15,000 are leased for agriculture. The primary reason for the new policy are fears that herbicide-resistant crops might be planted on leased land. City officials say too little is known about the long-term impacts of these crops.

Boulder's public land trustees unanimously approved the new policy last Wednesday, August 23rd. One city official told the Rocky Mountain News that "One of our charges is to protect environmental resources, and there are enough concerns about genetically modified crops to justify taking this action."

According to the paper, Boulder County is studying the possibility of following suit with a similar policy.

Starting next year, city officials will alter leases to require farmers to plant conventional crops.

A small but significant number of local governments are leading a mini-revolt against federal policy on biotech. Most actions, like the city council resolutions recently passed in Minneapolis, MN and Austin, TX, are non-binding resolutions related to GMO labels on food. Boulder's policy is different in that it has teeth for the small piece of farmland owned by the city. A number of other local initiatives are underway from New England to San Francisco.


SOURCE: Rocky Mountain News