Move over five-oh-two. Here comes five-TWENTY-two!

[DBP]

PCC and Chaco Canyon restaurant are now collecting petition signatures for State Initiative 522, “The People’s Right To Know Genetically Engineered Food Act”

This act (if placed on the ballot and passed by the voters next year) will:

–require most raw agricultural commodities, processed foods, and seeds and seed stocks, if produced using genetic engineering as defined, to be labeled as genetically engineered when offered for retail sale.

More info here: http://www.labelitwa.org/

I’ll also be carrying petitions around on my person, so whenever I take a picture of someone’s off-leash dog, I can ask them to sign. (Two birds, ya know.) 

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I don’t think we ought to be panicking over GMOs just yet. But at the same time, I think that we, as consumers, should be given this information so we can make more informed choices for ourselves and children.

I also think that requiring GMO labeling will send a message to food producers that we’re keeping an eye on them and that we actually CARE about what they’re doing with our food.

 

 

 

(Surprisingly, a similar initiative in California failed in last week’s election. Apparently the voters believed the food industry’s claims that the bill would cost too much to implement. C’mon, Washington! Here’s our chance to show these guys we’re smarter than California.)

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[redblack]

wait. whatever happened to initiative 420?

and when do we get to sign a petition for our right to smoke genetically unmodified weed?

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[JanS]

well, if you grow it yourself…..

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[JoB]

DBP

“Surprisingly, a similar initiative in California failed in last week’s election. Apparently the voters believed the food industry’s claims that the bill would cost too much to implement. C’mon, Washington! Here’s our chance to show these guys we’re smarter than California.)”

they were outspent 45 to 1 :(

and you would be amazed at the healthy labels you likely spend more for that were footing the bill.

i was

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[TanDL]

I really don’t get how something so basic as “I should get to know what I’m eating” could be shot down. Absolutely baffles me.

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[DBP]

My friend has a family member in California. She reports that the food lobby claimed GMO labeling would cost the average family $100 more per year at the check-out stand.

For people on tight budgets, this claim might have been persausive, but I’m skeptical. It doesn’t seem like groceries went up that much when the government mandated the new “Nutrition Facts” labeling a few years back.

You know, I don’t doubt that some otherwise “healthy” manufacturers would be spending money to kill this. They’re probably worried that consumers would outright reject any product that had even a small amount of GMOs in it, as even many healthy products do.

In fact, I think that probably WOULD happen at first, but given that there are some products that are very expensive – or even impossible – to make without some GMOs in them, consumers would eventually have to accept some amount of GMOs in their food. At least for the first few years, until food producers can gear up to find more non-GMO ingredients.

But I doubt that anyone would be put out of business overnight by GMO labeling.

Here’s the way I look at it. Let’s use the organic label for comparison.

There’s a local bakery (Essential Bakery, I think it is) that puts on their label: “This bread is made from 95% organic ingredients.”

Does that send me running for the hills? (Oh my gawd! Gag me! This crap is 5% non-organic!!)

No. In fact, it makes me want to buy their product even more. Hey, at least they’re trying, I figure. And at least they’re being up-front about what’s in the bread.

Truth in labeling, truth in advertising.

Where’s the harm?

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