Proponents of the Food and Farm Protection Act say it’s about time
the law catches up with the threat genetic engineering poses to
California agriculture.

Assemblyman Jared Huffman, (D) Santa Rosa: “Now if the federal
government was providing adequate oversight in this area, perhaps the
absence of a state policy would be less glaring.”

Santa Rosa Democrat Jared Huffman is sponsoring a bill that
would give conventional farmers the right to sue for economic losses if
their crops are contaminated by genetically engineered plants and would
protect them from liability if they unknowingly produce genetically
altered crops.

A.G. Kawamura, CA Sec. Of Agriculture: “This is one of those
areas, as has been many other areas in the scientific realm, that as a
nation we look toward a sound policy that allows us all to move forward
as a nation.”

Martina Newell-Mcgloughlin, U.C. biotech director: “Well I think it’s excessive and unnecessary.”

Martina Newell-Mcgloughlin is director of biotech research for the University of California system.

Martina Newell-Mcgloughlin: “There’s only a small number of
crops that are grown in California for which this would be an issue.
This would be cotton and rice. Both of those are largely ‘selfing.’
That is both of those crops do not tend to have their pollen flow any
distance.”

Scientists may disagree, but to rice growers here in the Sacramento Valley, the threat of contamination is very real.

Woodland farmer Tim Miramontes points to genetic contamination
in long grain rice crops in Arkansas last year as proof it could happen
here.

Tim Miramontes, Woodland rice grower: “Japan imports about 40
percent of California’s rice. And if Japan found contamination in
California’s rice, they could shut imports down and cripple the
California rice industry.”

Four California counties already ban or restrict genetically engineered farming, including Santa Cruz and Marin.

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