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36 More Vermont Towns Against Genetic Engineering (Friday, March 7, 2003 -- CropChoice news) -- From a news release.
2003 Town Meeting: 36 More Vermont Towns Against Genetic Engineering
Wednesday press conference at Gardener's Supply, Intervale Rd. in
Burlington, 10:30 AM
Nearly 40 Vermont towns, from Brattleboro north to Bakersfield, voted
at Town Meeting this week for resolutions opposing the genetic
engineering (GE) of food and crops. As of 10:30 PM Tuesday evening,
36 have supported their resolutions, 4 have tabled the issue and 3
voted against it. A total of 69 Vermont towns have now gone on record
against GE foods, beginning in 2000.
The details of the resolutions vary considerably from town to town,
but all the resolutions call upon legislators and congressional
representatives to support the labeling of GE foods. Most also
support legislation for a moratorium on the planting of GE crops.
Many towns have also declared that companies developing GE crops
should bear legal liability for all harm resulting from these crops,
instead of individual farmers. At least nine towns passed language
either calling for a moratorium on the planting of GE crops in the
town, or actively discouraging the planting of GE crops.
"This is an important milestone toward making Vermont the first state
to go GE-Free," said Jim Moulton of Jamaica, Vermont, a volunteer
organizer with the Windham County Genetic Engineering Action Group.
"This would be a tremendous boon to our state's farm economy and to
the integrity of Vermont's environment." The groups that make up the
Town-to-Town Campaign are supporting legislation that has been
introduced in the Vermont House, as well as working closely with
farmers and local communities across the state that are wanting to
take local action.
The following towns have passed resolutions this year (final language
will be available in a few days):
Andover, Bakersfield, Brattleboro, Brownsville, Cabot, Chester, East
Montpelier, Eden, Fletcher, Glover, Goshen, Halifax, Hardwick,
Hartford, Hartland, Johnson, Landgrove, Londonderry, Middlebury,
Morristown, Newark, Plymouth, Peru, Rochester, Rockingham, Royalton,
Salisbury, Shoreham, Sharon, Tunbridge, Underhill, Vershire,
Westford, Weston, Weybridge, Windham.
Resolutions were tabled in Albany, Arlington, Peacham and Fairfield,
and voted down in Cornwall, Barnet and Wilmington.
Representatives of the sponsoring organizations, and people from
towns that passed resolutions, will be speaking to the press at the
Gardener's Supply greenhouse on Intervale Road in Burlington at 10:30
AM on Wednesday. There will be a rally on the State House lawn at
noon on Thursday, March 13th.
The Town-to-Town Campaign is a grassroots initiative supported by the
Institute for Social Ecology Biotechnology Project, Vermont GE Action
Network, Rural Vermont, and the Windham County GE Action Group.
Continuing updates are available at http://www.nerage.org. | |
