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CHINO, Calif. – In March 1994, Asgrow Seed Co. (a Monsanto subsidiary) President Norman Braksick was quoted in the Kansas City Star as saying: “If you put a label on genetically engineered food you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it.”

The Committee for the Right to Know, a political action committee based in Chino, Calif., is preparing to begin a signature drive to require just that – mandatory GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) labeling – on the California ballot in 2012.

The initiative aims to require mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods and food ingredients, which have also been referred to as “Frankenfoods.”

The initiative is backed by a broad base of health, environmental and consumer groups, and is heartily endorsed by Dr. Joseph Mercola, an alternative medicine advocate, who promotes dietary and lifestyle approaches to health.

Surveys also indicate 90 to 95 percent of the general public want to know which foods contain GMOs.