The Santa Barbara Certified Farmers Market Association voted unanimously in November to ban the sale of genetically modified organisms from its seven area markets, according to the Santa Barbara News-Press.
“Farmers market shoppers come looking for fresh, healthy local food,” said the association’s executive director, Laurence Hauben. “GMOs don’t fit in that picture.”
Hauben said though no association members are believed to use genetically altered crops or animals, biotechnology research is being “pushed” in a number of California’s top export crops such as strawberries, lettuce, grapes and walnuts.