My outspoken perspective on the MSFL issue

Here is an opportunity for me to be politically correct and play nice when talking about UNR and the Main Station Field Laboratory (MSFL)...but I think I'll pass this time and speak out instead.  There are many places to read the "can't we all get along" version of this situation, but stakeholder activists experienced a very different, less warm and fuzzy version of this well known local topic.  It's my blog so I'll tell you about it here. The subject is complex and this post is long...read on. 

 

GMO labeling in Nevada - AB330 (previously know as BDR 955) is on the table

Nevada has joined 22 other states that have put GMO labeling bills on the table in 2013.  If you read this blog it's likely you are already aware of the concerns surrounding GMO labeling so I won't get on my soapbox, but I will provide a link to Label GMO Nevada and encourage you to contact your lawmakers now and tell them you support BDR 955 (update - the bill has a final name and it is AB330).

Organizers and supports must act quickly on this bill because the timeline is short:

• March 18 – Bill must be assigned to a committee. Speaker, Marilyn Kirkpatrick does the     assigning.
• March 25 – Committee bills must be in.
• April 12 – Bill must be approved by the committee and sent to the Assembly for a vote.
• April 23 – Bill must be approved by the first house
• May 17 – Second house, bill must be approved by committee
• May 24 – Second house – bill must be approved
• June 3 – end of legislative session. Next one is 2015!

Volunteers are working hard to get the word out but funding must come from us.  Donate if you can!

We're all really busy so a click and support button would be a nice option but our lawmakers respond best to a brief, personally written encouragement to support.  Take a minute to find out who your lawmakers are (link also provided at Label GMO Nevada) and tell them you want them to support AB330. 

We've all seen the power of Monsanto and Friends, and the money they are willing to spend to defeat these initiatives - more than $35 million went into defeating Prop 37 in California. The good news is, post-election polls show that even those who voted "no" actually support labeling. The money bought votes but it didn't change values.

MAIN STATION FIELD LABORATORY - A COMMUNITY VIEW

The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) has submitted to the Reno City Council (Council) a proposal to zone 104 acres of the Main Station Field Laboratory (MSFL) light industrial, in preparation for commercial sale. UNR and the Board of Regents (Regents) are pushing through with this proposal in spite of overwhelming opposition and ongoing concern about food security, due diligence, and the safety and cost issues associated with flood water storage capacity. Homeowners, businesses, planners, government agencies, farmers, ranchers, local food and business advocates, UNR students and the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources Advisory Board (CABNR) have been and continue to be in opposition to this proposal.

On March 27, 2013 the Council will again consider the UNR proposal. Go to the end of this post to RSVP for the meeting to show your support and help us demonstrate to the Council the level of community opposition to the proposal.

Here is what the Coalition to Preserve the UNR Farmland and Floodplain (Coalition) wants you to know about this issue.