Farms the new frontier of terrorists?

Over the space of two nights this month, the sugar beet crop in two fields in Jackson County, Oregon, was destroyed. Someone, or a number of somebodies, chose to destroy a valuable crop, likely because it consisted of beets that had been genetically engineered to be resistant to Roundup, a herbicide.

It would be nice to see the criminals who did this caught, and according to reports by the Oregonian, the FBI is taking the case seriously.  They have deemed the case "economic sabotage and a violation of federal law involving damage to commercial agricultural enterprises," according to the report of reporter Kimberly A.C. Wilson of the Oregonian, the only major media outlet so far to report on the issue from what I can tell.

Farmers do their best to manage weather risk (they can and do lose part or all of their crops due to weather), volatile markets (prices often drop when the crop does well), government regulations (which get more onerous each year), and common problems like theft but the wanton destruction of a year’s crop by criminal activity can’t be planned or managed.

Grange members stand united against what amounts to terrorism against our American farmers. No matter what crops our farmers choose to raise, no matter what animals our farmers choose to nurture, if it is legal American farmers deserve to be able to supply their fellow citizens with that product. It doesn’t matter if you are an animal rights or anti-GMO (genetically modified organisms) believer, actions such as these are unacceptable and criminal.

I have a hunch that those who committed this crime are operating on emotion. I’ve heard a lot of argument against the use of GMOs over the last couple of years. While I believe that everyone has a right to their own opinion, when someone claims that GMOs will cause the death of the human species, any middle or common ground is hard to find, and facts to support that argument are hard to find. Every peer-reviewed scientific study I have seen or heard of shows that no difference can be seen between the end product of a natural seed, a naturally modified seed, or an engineered seed.

The National Grange has debated the issue of GMOs for a number of years and from those debates we have created our current policy. We support the use of GMO seed and want studies on their safety to continue. It is a pragmatic viewpoint and yet one that is based upon the available facts and science. I am sure that it will continue to be discussed and debated in our organization and by the public for many years to come. As new studies are conducted, their results will be included in the policy development process of the Grange.

It is good to have passion, but if we allow that passion to overshadow logic and facts we will see more crimes such as this one in Jackson County. It is our duty to engage in discussion and debate the issues of the day. Through this process we only stand to learn from each other.

The Grange stands in support of the American farmer, especially those who are the victims of terrorist acts like this one because of the crop they’ve chosen to plant. Every American should join us in condemning criminal acts like the one reported.

Intellectual Property, business and the Grange

I’ve seen a few emails from members about our press release about the recent Supreme Court decision about Monsanto’s intellectual property rights and thought a few comments to the world in general would be appropriate.

First, the Grange, since its earliest days, has always been in favor of technology being used to improve crops, livestock, and all the associated practices and methods in raising them. While those early members likely never dreamed of the capabilities of science that we enjoy today, our policies have remained consistent in promoting the use of science to advance agriculture.

While GMO’s are a controversial issue for some, the science from our land grant colleges, the USDA, and others continue to show that there is no detectable difference from the food grown from GMO or non-GMO seed.

The Grange continues to support all aspects of agriculture, from a small operation feeding a few families to large farms helping to feed the world. The diversity in agriculture in practices and produce are good for American consumers and the starving in the far corners of the world. We will always advocate that we are good stewards of the soil, water, and air regardless of the size of farm. Science remains a tool to assist all farmers to continue to do a better job of protecting our resources while increasing the food, fiber, and fuel we’ll need in the future.

Second, the Grange has never supported or opposed specific business, or corporations, with the exception of co-operatives which we introduced to America and have continued to support. Our organization advocated for many railroad lines and just as often advocated against some of their monopolistic practices such as unfair rate structures. The end result of our fight with the railroads was the adoption of the idea that monopolies can be regulated for the public good. Even today, we take many policy positions for or against the practices of businesses. This does not mean we support or oppose them, just how they are doing business.

Monsanto is a large business, but it does not meet the definition of a monopoly as there are other large companies competing in the same field and many smaller companies in competition with them. We supported Monsanto’s right to own and protect intellectual property that they developed. While some of their practices may garner our opposition, on this issue, we believe that their rights were being infringed upon.

Third, our policies are the result of many discussions and debates and each are eventually adopted by the delegates of the National Grange. These policies then are advocated for by the officers and staff of the National Grange. The strength of the Grange is this deliberative policy-setting process rather than allowing leadership to create policies based upon their personal views.