Despite the efforts of Monsanto and five other corporations to defeat the initiative, Jackson County residents voted last Tuesday to ban genetically engineered crops from being planted within their borders.
Although Jackson County is home to less than 120,000 registered voters, the election results made headlines in almost every newspaper of the United States and the plantation of organic seeds is more popular than ever.
The initiative also forces companies to harvest, destroy or remove all genetically engineered plants within a period of 12 months after the ordinance goes into effect.
“We fought the most powerful and influential chemical companies in the world and we won,” local farmer and anti-GMO advocate Elise Higley told the Oregonian.