LAKEPORT – The committee that has spent the better part of the year discussing how to address genetically engineered (GE) crops in Lake County told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that they had not been able to settle on a final recommendation.

In August, the board decided to give the GE Crops Advisory Committee another few months to complete its work in an attempt to come up with a final suggestions.

Meeting since January, the committee has had the proverbial tough row to hoe as it has brought together members from various viewpoints tasked with coming to a point of consensus on a highly volatile and controversial topic.

On Tuesday, Mark Hooper, who has chaired the committee, said they've been unable to reach a recommendation in the three meetings they've held since the Aug. 25 board meeting.

The 13-member group, which also had several alternates along with numerous members of the public at its biweekly meetings, established a level of required consensus that essentially required unanimous approval of all recommendations, according to the committee report.

In addition, committee members and alternates were subject to sometimes vicious attacks by members of the public who attended the meetings, accusing committee members of having personal agendas and in some cases attempting character assassination, according to one member, Victoria Brandon, who also chairs the Sierra Club Lake Group.

As 10 of the committee members and alternates looked on from the audience, Hooper presented draft eight of a white paper that he said is a compilation of research from the committee's four subcommittees. That draft hasn't changed since Aug. 24, he said.

Hooper said a significant amount of work remains to be done on the report, which he said hasn't passed the committee. Other members would dispute the statement about how much was left to do.

But the conclusion that was the same all around was that they couldn't reach a consensus opinion on any of the proposals. “I think that summarizes where we are,” said Hooper.

When Hooper had finished with his report, all five of the supervisors sat silent and stony faced for a few moments before Board Chair Denise Rushing broke the silence.

“I'm disappointed after all this,” said Rushing who, along with Supervisor Rob Brown, had sat in on some of the meetings and offered guidance.

“In the end we just could not agree on a regulation,” Hooper replied.

Noting that one no vote could derail a proposal, Rushing asked, “Is it possible that the standard of consensus was too high?”

Hooper said that with a lower consensus requirement they could have reached some clear conclusions with a unanimous vote, “but I'm not sure that would have been fair to all of Lake County, which was one of the challenges that we had here.”

He suggested that not requiring unanimous votes might have pushed the committee's findings in a different direction. “We would have had a conclusion, but I'm not sure what that would have been.”

Rushing invited other committee members to weigh in.

“We all share this sense of great disappointment, of having invested this much time and effort,” said Brandon, noting that they came very close.

She said only one chapter of the 70-page report hadn't received the committee's full approval but the rest of it – in its outline, main structure and main points – can be seen as representative of the committee's work.

There also were several things the group agreed on, including the belief that growers who participate in a regulatory system should have their privacy assured, according to Brandon. All of the members also said they wanted a GE crop registration system, but the form of it wasn't settled.

“This, I think gives a way forward for the county if the county chooses to take it,” she said.

Brandon said the committee was unwieldy in size, with as many as 20 people around the table at a given time. The meetings also were televised, which also sometimes led to people playing to the gallery and making speeches.

An important result of the committee meetings, Brandon said, was that people who had thought of each other as adversaries had learned to work together and respect each other, which she said will bear fruit on future issues.

Another committee member, Andre Ross, said the committee did a lot of “useful and beneficial work,” with all of the members devoting significant amounts of time and energy to the endeavor.

He said the concerns about GE crops are real, as evidenced by the general public's interest.

Offering a point of constructive criticism, Ross suggested that some committee members and members of the public believed the committee's mandate was resolving the issues, when they were instead charged with coming up with a proposal. In the end, they simply weren't able to complete the task.

Community members Brian Gray and Herb Gura told the board they believed the high level of consensus needed had hamstrung the committee.

Gura, who serves on the Konocti Unified School Board, noted, “Consensus is an admirable standard, but it's also unwieldy,” with one person able to shut down deliberations.

Upper Lake farmer Haji Warf said she attended nearly every meeting and made quite a bit of comment on the process.

Warf, who recently wrote a guest commentary about the need for a GE ban in Lake County, explained her concerns to the board, noting that right now farmers in Lake County adhere to the “first in time, first in right” process, which means they neither have to report what they're growing or stop growing a crop once it's in the ground.

For organic farmers, that could result in their crops being contaminated and their livelihoods jeopardized. Once it's in the environment, it's there forever, she said, changing DNA.

Warf said Lake County has a unique opportunity to go in a different direction.

Rushing asked her how the committee worked. Warf said she didn't feel it was representative of the public at large.

“Until we know more, you really should put a moratorium in place,” she said.

Sarah Ryan, who wasn't on the committee but said she had wanted to be, said the GE crop issue has come up before the board before now.

She was part of a previous effort to have a GE ban put in place in the county, and said the committee's research supports the previously proposed moratorium.

Committee members Steve DeVoto and Michelle Scully both defended the high consensus standard the committee set for itself.

DeVoto said they can't just depend on majority rule, because the minority has rights, and there are many different viewpoints.

Scully said the unanimous degree of consensus the committee set for itself was a gesture to the community “to show that we were really entering into this process in good faith.”

She said people were listening to each other, but she was disappointed that they never got to the point of discussing specifics.

Rushing also asked Scully for recommendations to the board.

“I want a really big gavel first of all,” Scully joked. When Rushing pulled out a small gavel, Scully said, “Bigger than that one. You missed some of the meetings.”

Given more time, could the committee reach consensus, Rushing asked.

“My knee jerk reaction is no,” said Scully, who also noted the committee's size was unwieldy.

She said using a different consensus standard would make it feel like a new process was in place.

Committee alternate Lorrie Gray said the group was very close to a proposal. She said something needed to be done about GE crops. “This isn't going to go away on its own.”

A gardener, Gray took issue with Warf's earlier statement about the committee not being representative of consumers.

At the very least, Gray urged the board to pass a recommendation on a GE labeling law. She said a nationwide poll said 92 percent of respondents wanted to know if they're eating GE crops. Labeling is mandatory in Europe.

“We don't get to be told what we're eating, and that's wrong,” she said.

Melissa Fulton, the Lake County Chamber of Commerce executive director who also sat on the committee, said everyone on the committee learned a great deal. She said Mother Nature began the process of genetically modifying crops ages ago.

Fulton said that, while Lake County farmers don't have to register their crops, farmers on the committee who were voting members were working toward regulation.

“We need to be looking at doing something,” she said. “I'm not quite sure what that is.”

Fulton also mentioned the abuse she took during the public comment period in the meetings.

Finley farmer Phil Murphy thanked all the committee members for the work they put in, noting that they probably did more than he expected them to.

He said some of the remaining issues – such as who should hold the information on GE crop growers – are small once past the issue that something needs to be done, and there's agreement that the community wants local control and oversight.

“I think all the hard work's been done, really,” he said.

Farmer Lars Crail, who also sat on the committee, suggested the committee should reconsider its definition of consensus. He said the county's organic farming industry is growing and should have a voice.

Board suggests changing committee's composition to move forward

Supervisor Jeff Smith suggested the committee be pared down to a more workable number like seven to continue looking at the issues.

Rushing told the committee that although she was disappointed that they hadn't reached a final determination, “That doesn't diminish the amount of work that went into this effort.”

She said there is a lot of public mistrust and anger right now, and it's unfortunate that those who step up to serve are attacked.

Rushing wanted to see the committee's work continue, with some modifications, so they could come up with recommendations that the committee could fully debate.

Supervisor Anthony Farrington said the board needed to tell the committee where it stood, and if they wanted some regulation or not.

Rushing said that, for her part, the committee came close on arriving at oversight, review and control recommendations. She didn't think a complete ban was ever a reality with the group, but she said she would definitely support oversight.

Farrington said she struggled with the status quo. Checks and balances were needed, he added.

Brown said he doesn't seen an imminent threat from GE crops, nor does he believe the controversies surrounding them.

If the board wanted to see the committee continue in a small form, he was fine with it.

However, he added of the committee, “I think their work is done.”

Smith disagreed. “I think we can come up with some really great things out of this, still.”

Broc Zoller, another committee member, said the board needed to give the committee direction or else nothing would result. “I think we are not going to come up with anything, we are going to continue to flounder.”

Rushing passed the gavel to Farrington and moved to direct the committee to pare itself down to seven members to continue working on recommendations, and to require a different level of consensus that would permit at least one no vote. Smith seconded and the board voted 3-2, with Comstock and Brown voting no.

Comstock said he wanted to add to the motion in order to support it, so Rushing moved to reconsider. Smith seconded and the board voted 5-0.

Offering an amendment to Rushing's motion, Comstock said he felt strongly that the smaller committee's composition should represent the original categories on the committee.

Rushing accepted the amendment, Smith seconded, and the board voted 4-1, with Brown voting no.

The committee is expected to meet again soon to attempt to choose the seven members to continue on with the process.

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