Jackson County Oregon’s Ban on Genetically Modified Seed
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to determine if a US locality, like Jackson County Oregon, can protect organic producers’ right to farm against drifting genetically modified (GM) seeds by banning all cultivation of GM crops. The research analyzes original legal sources, including the US Constitution, federal and state statutes, regulations, and cases, to determine the legality of a local ban on a product otherwise widely distributed in US interstate commerce. The research is relevant to a variety of competing policies in US agriculture today, including emerging state constitutional rights protecting “modern” farming methods. At the same time, organic farmers have rights to protect their methods from GM seed blown onto their property by the wind, as the Oregon federal court upheld. Numerous international jurisdictions also ban cultivation of GM crops. The ability of US states and localities to do so, however, is determined by the constitutional protection on interstate commerce, which, ultimately, is controlled by the US Congress. The research addresses important policy questions about a locality’s right to protect its specialized organic farming market against industrialized agriculture, under a federal constitutional system that prohibits undue burdens on interstate commerce.