Attempting to end a years-long argument no one was winning, the Oregon Department of Agriculture decided to expand the areas where canola can be grown in the Willamette Valley. The decision, announced late Friday afternoon, will anger some specialty seed growers. For years, cabbage, radish, turnip and pumpkin see growers worried canola will damage their $32 million industry with cross-pollination, pests or diseases.
Fresh-market vegetable growers also don’t like canola. Opponents of genetically-modified plants have chimed in as well, saying the ag department opened the door to GMO contamination of specialty crops in the valley and “railroaded” the decision.
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View the original article here: Year long argument over GMO canola ends in Oregon
