A moratorium on growing genetically engineered crops in the California county of Santa Cruz has been unanimously approved.

But then, as we said before, who could argue with the findings of the report written by Santa Cruz's agriculture commissioner and two public health experts together with two appointees from each of the five supervisorial districts in the county:

*State and federal laws provide inadequate oversight. The US Department of Agriculture does not know the location of many GE test sites. Some crops not approved for human consumption have found their way into the food supply.

*Lack of safety testing leaves a potentially dangerous void in understanding long-term health effects of GE food, which is still largely unlabeled in the U.S.

*Farmers worldwide have reported their crops being tainted by stray GE pollen, subjecting some to patent infringement lawsuits from large biotechnology corporations.
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6620

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County supervisors OK ban on genetically engineered crops
http://midday.santacruzsentinel.net/content/view/103/25/

As expected, supervisors Tuesday approved a moratorium on growing genetically engineered crops in Santa Cruz County.

The unanimous decision pleased numerous audience members, all of whom spoke in favor of the decision. The county now joins Marin and Mendicino in outlawing the plants.

The Board received over 100 letters, e-mails, and phone calls in support of the GE Moratorium which "makes it unlawful for any person to propagate, cultivate, raise, or grow any genetically engineered crop and declares that any act in violation of this prohibition constitutes a public nuisance."