The "Silly Season" is upon us

One wag once labeled it the “silly season” – that time of year when residents gather at town meeting to sort through the town’s business. Most of the time the label is ill deserved. But every now an then the label fits, like in the 1980s when anti-nuclear activists used town meetings to pass bans on nuclear missiles.


The problem with political causes at town meetings is they take up valuable time – time better spent deciding which roads to pave, or whether town employees deserve a pay raise. They’re also contentious, raising partisan issues at what are remarkably non-partisan affairs. Toss a political resolution on the table and townspeople head for the doors. Who needs the aggravation?


Last year at town meeting, Montville succumbed to the latest political fad – a drive to block the planting of agricultural crops enhanced using modern biotechnology (also known as genetically engineered crops or GMOs). The local ban effort follows failed attempts to get the legislature to ban biotech crops statewide. Opponents also failed to block the Board of Pesticides Control’s registration of insect-resistant corn. After repeated failures at the state level, anti-biotech activists have turned to town meetings.


The town-ban effort is based on the false premise that the legislature is indifferent to problems with biotech crops. This is untrue. The legislature has taken up numerous bills dealing with GMOs. They’ve passed laws on labeling, cross-pollination, industry reporting and directed the Department of Agriculture to develop a co-existence plan. Last year, the legislature updated Maine’s liability laws regarding GMOs and directed the Commissioner of Agriculture to develop best management practices for biotech crops. The Board of Pesticides Control has been regulating biotech crops since the late 1990s.


There’s another problem with towns banning biotech crops. It’s against state law. Maine has a “right to farm” law. It prohibits towns from enacting ordinances banning farming practices that are considered “best management practices.” When residents in Kennebunk and Kennebunkport submitted a GMO-ban petition for town meeting, the Commissioner of Agriculture wrote town officials and pointed out the conflict with state law. The selectmen in both towns wisely exercised their right to reject citizen’s petitions that conflict with state law and declined to put the issue to a vote at town meeting.


Following Montville’s vote, the Commissioner of Agriculture sent the town a letter declaring the ban “invalid” because it failed to comply with state law. The Director of the Board of Pesticides Control sent a similar letter declaring the ordinance “null and void” for the same reason. So, after several public meetings, a spirited debate at town meeting and a show of hands, Montville’s ordinance is for naught. Town officials are on notice that the ordinance is unenforceable and farmers know that state officials are sworn to protect their right to plant biotech crops.


Biotechnology is one of the industries Maine is betting on for its economic future. State funding from a research and development bond issue is being funneled to biotech companies by the Maine Technology Institute. Biotech innovations, including agriculture, are showing great promise in solving some of the pressing environmental problems we face. A biodiesel consortium in Aroostook County is working to produce transportation fuel from renewable sources. No-till agriculture, made possible by biotech crops, is reducing carbon emissions and soil erosion.


Maine gained brief notoriety around the country when Montville’s ban was reported by national media. Fortunately, the story died quickly. It would be truly unfortunate if Maine’s image was that of an anti-technology backwater and not that of a state on the cutting edge of the biotechnology revolution, led by researchers working at such prestigious institutions as the University of Maine, The Jackson Laboratory and the Maine Institute for Human Genetics & Health.