By Murphy Woodhouse | Arizona Daily
With a handful of exceptions, the several dozen speakers who addressed the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday spoke in opposition to agribusiness giant Monsanto’s plans to come to Pima County.
Opponents, many of who were holding yellow signs that read “Say no to Monsanto,” were hoping that the board would shoot down the deal, something several officials said the county has no power to do. They didn’t get that, but the supervisors did unanimously decide to delay consideration of a property-tax plan with Monsanto until February.
The board also agreed to establish an agricultural science advisory commission to address some concerns raised by the speakers, many of which centered on what they called potential health impacts of Monsanto’s plans to use genetically modified seeds in a 7-acre greenhouse. It would be built on a 155-acre parcel near Marana.
