Majority Democrats in the Connecticut Senate have pushed through a bill that would ban GM grass seed amid concerns that it could become invasive and lead to greater use of pesticides and herbicides.
Grass not always greener in modified seed debate
Ken Dixon
ctpost.com, April 9, 2014
http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Grass-not-always-greener-in-modified-seed-debate-5390604.php
Majority Democrats in the Senate pushed through a bill Wednesday night that would ban genetically modified grass seed amid concerns that it could become invasive and lead to greater use of pesticides and herbicides.
The vote was 25-11 after a 2 1/2-hour debate. Three Republicans, including Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, joined Democrats.
A Republican proposal to create a two-year moratorium to study the issue - while agricultural giant Scott's Miracle-Gro Corp. completes research in advance of its launch of a GMO bluegrass seed - failed.
But the bill is in jeopardy in the House of Representatives, where Democrats are split on the issue and Speaker Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, believes there are more-pressing issues with less than a month to go in the budget-adjustment session.
Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams, Jr., however, said the health of insects such as honeybees and Monarch butterflies is at stake and threatened by chemical giants.
"We are looking at an invasive species that will spread," said Williams, D-Brooklyn. "The potential is there to contribute to the resistance of weeds and that damage can be substantial."
Williams said that the grass seed -- which is resistant to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup -- is also a threat to organic farmers.
"We should not allow something that can be out there that can potentially cause harm," Williams said.
Republicans led by Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, who supported last year's legislation requiring a regional effort to label GMO products, said the current bill was not the subject of a public hearing to maximize information for lawmakers.
"We're looking at a product we know very little about because it's going through its trials as I understand it," said Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich. "What do we know about this product that is inherently dangerous?"
"The lawn seed is actually impervious to pesticides," said Sen. Ed Meyer, D-Guilford, co-chairman of the legislative Environment Committee. "We're being told by the manufacturers that it's on its way. There is growing scientific evidence of the toxicity of pesticides. This is an effort to get ahead of the field. It's likely that generations of state residents will thank us if this bill goes forward."
The bill would ban the sale and use of genetically modified grass seed, but would not prevent its importation into the state. Regulatory control of the issue would rest with the stateDepartment of Agriculture.
"Do we not expect the department to go out and do any enforcement?" asked Sen. Clark Chapin, R-New Milford, ranking member of the Environment Committee.
Meyer said the agency would likely conduct random searches to determine whether the law would be broken. "I feel confident that our business will obey the law," he said.
"I don't believe science supports it," Chapin replied.
"I think what we have before us is an idea that has not been fully vetted," said Sen. Michael A. McLachlan, R-Danbury. "We are anticipating something that might not ever happen."
Meyer said environmental activists are "predicting a major increase in pesticides that would have a deleterious effect on state residents."
"I have been contacted by farmers in my district who are concerned about this," said Sen. Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford. "Maybe we need to look at it a little closer before we say this is not the kind of product we want in our state."
Sharkey, in a statement, voiced doubts about the bill.
"In a short session that is supposed to focus on jobs and the economy, I'm concerned about enacting legislation this year that looks to preemptively ban a product that doesn't yet exist without allowing the public, and experts, to weigh in," he said.
The legislative session ends at 12:01 a.m. on May 8.
State Rep. Linda Gentile, D-Ansonia, co-chairman of the Environment Committee, said in an interview earlier Wednesday that she's not sure whether it will even reach the House floor for debate.
"I know there's a split in our caucus," she said. "I'm concerned there's not enough support."