It's official! The California Secretary of State's office announced that the Right to Know initiative to label genetically engineered foods will be on the November ballot for California. This would be the first law in the United States requiring labeling of a wide range of genetically engineered foods.
The initiative requires labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) - which are plants or meats that have had their DNA artificially altered by genes from other plants, animals, viruses, or bacteria, in order to produce foreign compounds in that food. This type of genetic alteration occurs in a laboratory and is not found in nature.
Polls show nearly unanimous support across the political spectrum for labeling of genetically engineered foods. Nine out of ten voters in the U.S. and in California back labeling, according to recent polls (see Mellman 2012, Reuters 2010, Zogby 2012).
I hope you will vote for this initiative in November. It's not about whether you are for or against genetic engineering . . . but that you believe that we, as consumers, have the right to know what is in the food we eat, where it comes from, and how it was grown. This article has more information.
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