Seeds of Dissent

Tony Nelson

Minneapolis DFLer Margaret Anderson Kelliher wants the state to stop licensing new genetically modified crops

Related Content

• Minnesota has country's best corn crop in a drought-stricken season, USDA says
  September 12, 2012
• Duluth man allegedly tossed Molotov cocktails from roof of Shanty Bottle Shop
  May 10, 2013
• Duluth's Homegrown Music Festival unveils lineup, local pre-party
  April 18, 2013
• Plans moving forward for Minneapolis-to-Duluth high-speed passenger rail line [MAP]
  April 5, 2013
• Southwire champion gospel-folk
  March 27, 2013

More About

• Brad Biers
• Crop Production
• Agriculture Sector
• Science and Technology
• Biotechnology

Both Ness and Biers say the question of whether Kelliher's and Kahn's bills will be heard has more to do with procedure than partisanship. Because 2000 is a "short session" focusing on state bonding, they argue, there's no time for such a complex debate. "This is too big an issue to make a rash decision," Biers says.

According to Biers, if the proposed measures do not come up for a committee hearing by the end of this week, they will be dead until next session. At that point, he suggests, advocates on both sides may want to turn their attention to Washington, D.C., where mandatory-labeling bills are pending in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. "Minnesota should not create an island unto itself," he maintains. "This is something that should be dealt with by Congress and the president. We just think that the state Legislature is not the appropriate platform for this."