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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Rogue Valley doctor runs for governor on climate change platform ... Our View: Learning to survive ... Techtoberfest event was a rousing success ... Rogue Valley doctor runs for governor on climate change platform ... Our View: Learning to survive ... Techtoberfest event was a rousing success ... 'LAB-RAT REBELLION' Rally promotes anti-GMO efforts Court could rule this week on voter-approved GMO ban in county Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted May. 25, 2015 at 2:51 PM Updated May 25, 2015 at 2:53 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted May. 25, 2015 at 2:51 PM Updated May 25, 2015 at 2:53 PM What do you think? --> Have an opinion on this issue? 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Send a letter to the editor at www.dailytidings.com/sendletter . » Social News Swinging a sling around her head, Ashland City Councilor Carol Voisin on Saturday mimicked David, as in David vs. Goliath, showing several hundred anti-GMO demonstrators gathered in the Plaza how she recommends fending off genetically modified crops from giant agri-chemical firms: with a steady barrage of little stones over time. “The giant bully Goliath doesn’t win,” said Voisin. “What wins is the series of pebbles, over and over, so keep writing letters to the editor, speaking up at council meetings, boycotting markets if they are selling anything that’s genetically modified.” The demonstration with speakers, booths and skits came just after arguments in court Wednesday, where two farmers are suing the county, seeking the right to farm with GMO seeds despite the May 2014 public vote approving a law banning GMO crops in Jackson County. Bruce Schulz of Schulz Family Farms grows Roundup Ready alfalfa on his farm in Gold Hill. James and Marilyn Frink grow Roundup Ready alfalfa near Sams Valley. Both farms have indicated they would suffer financial hardship if GMOs are banned. Under the ordinance, farmers who already have genetically engineered crops can harvest this year but must remove the crops within 12 months. “If the decision is not what it should be,” said Voisin of the federal court ruling expected as early as this week, “we’re going to do something about it.” She didn’t say what, but continued toting up her list of peaceful ways to battle big corporations, including buying from local, organic farms, demand more oversight of USDA and FDA and transformation of a "non-responsive" system through “people power.” Voisin urged the crowd to “protest to the point of revolution ... This country has become a plutocracy that doesn’t listen to us and it’s the young people who are most at risk.” A series of speakers espoused rhetoric that’s become familiar in the past three years of campaigning against gene tinkering in the food supply — mainly about how Monsanto and Syngenta look upon the U.S. as the world’s main planting ground, said Kristina Lefever of the Pollinator Project, now that GMO has been banned in so many other nations. GMO crops, especially those treated with Monsanto’s Roundup, are a main driver in Colony Collapse Disorder of bees, she said, and her group is trying to educate people, when they visit nurseries, to ask if plants have been treated with that or any neonicotinoids. “Bees become addicted to neonicotinoids,” she said, even while they kill off hives. As the agrichemical giants get more genetic patents, said Catie Faryl, co-founder of the Chamber of Commons, “we’re trying to invoke the precautionary principle of ‘do no harm.’ We’re demanding a moratorium at the federal level” on such patents — and lawsuits against growers who use patented seed, whether intentionally or not." The rally was labeled “the lab rat rebellion,” she said, because the public is being "experimented on" with newly devised gene combinations without scientific proof that they are harmless to health — and that proof should come before patenting and release to the market. “You have to stop allowing them to own a piece of nature and then sell it back to us,” Faryl says. Science is now "toying" with genes that mosquito-proof organisms, she says, without exploring the impact on birds and bees that live off them. Native American Patricia Ann Davis urged win-win solutions carried on “without subscribing to negativity ... and thinking in holistic alignment within the natural order for good health and abundance in life.” "The 22,000 people of Monsanto are committed to having an open dialogue about food and agriculture," Monsanto representative Charla Lord said in a prepared statement. "We’re also proud of our collaboration with farmers and partnering organizations that help make a more balanced meal accessible for everyone. Our goal is to help farmers do this in a more sustainable way using fewer resources and having a smaller impact on the environment. We know people have different points of view on these topics, and it’s important that they’re able to express and share them." Also sharing space with the rally on the plaza were the Bellview Grange, Families for Food Freedom, Jackson County Fuel Committee, Jobs with Justice, Moms Across America, Move to Amend, Pachamama Alliance, Pollinator Project and Red Earth Descendants for International Peace and Prayer Day, and campaigners against “chemtrails” and vaccination. John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted May. 25, 2015 at 2:51 PM Updated May 25, 2015 at 2:53 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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