Cherryville, BC – On March 8th, Cherryville becomes the 13th BC municipality to pass a resolution in favour of banning GMO crops.
Three weeks ago, Bee SAFE, a local volunteer group started by Huguette Allen, Jane Emlyn and Carla Vierke, held a public meeting at the Cherryville hall to discuss how GMO crops affect other crops and why they're being banned in many regions.
“There is no co-existence possible between GMO crops and other crops – by not deciding to ban them, we're deciding to ban every other type of agriculture and to put the future of our food and our farms in the hands of corporations like Monsanto, who own patents on GMO seeds” said Huguette Allen.
Along with a presentation and discussion, Bee SAFE asked the Cherryville public to cast a vote to show whether they were in favour of passing a resolution to ban GMO crops in their community. Looking at the vote results, Carla Vierke said: "It's scary to see that had we not called for a vote, 3.6% of Cherryville voters would have decided on our future. It is a very clear example that by not making a choice, you are in fact making a choice.”
Out of 306 votes cast, 276 were from Cherryville, and 266 votes, 96.4%, were in favour of a ban. “It seems that people need to be proactive and have a vision of what they want and don't want in their community or it will always be a situation of reacting to what ever comes their way. If the GMO trend had continued, it would have been impossible for anyone else to grow organic or conventional crops" continued Vierke.
Jane Emlyn, who has been working for many years to promote pesticide-free gardening and agriculture said: "The solution now is to support small-scale farms, developing a resilient food economy based on health, quality of life, protection of the environment and the elimination of pesticides."
Bee SAFE will be giving more presentations on how GMO crops affect communities, throughout the district in the coming months. The next one is scheduled for Wednesday March 27th, at 7 PM, in Lumby. “GMO crops were accepted in our communities without people's knowledge. Contamination is occurring without people's consent. It's important for people to find out what is at stake so they can make an informed decision about the future of their communities” added Allen.
Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator
Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) Collaborative Campaigning for Food Sovereignty and Environmental Justice Suite 206, 180 Metcalfe Street Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K2P 1P5
Phone: 613 241 2267 ext. 25
Fax: 613 241 2506