Biotech battle stirs up California wine country

[excerpt:]
The Sonoma County initiative heads a list of state and local public policy debates involving biotechnology that are being closely monitored by the industry and its critics.

In Vermont last week, the state Senate passed legislation designed to place the liability for any problems resulting from modified seeds with the manufacturer, rather than the farmer. The bill goes to the Vermont House.

On the other side of the coin, at least five states - Pennsylvania, Iowa, Georgia, North Dakota and South Dakota - have adopted legislation since November that precludes local governments from banning gene-altered crops. Similar legislation is pending or awaiting the signature of governors in at least five other states.

The success of ballot initiatives in California last year triggered the industry effort in state legislatures.

"It would be a real problem to have to fight county by county or city by city across the country," said Allan Noe, spokesman for CropLife America, which represents Monsanto and its rivals in the biotech industry.

But Britt Bailey, director of Environmental Commons, an advocacy group in Mendocino County, Calif., argued that the industry was waging a stealth campaign to take control away from local governments.

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The full article is available on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch website.