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Thousands of volunteers will fan out throughout the state today, February 18 to launch a petition drive to get the “California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act” on the ballot in November. In the thick of the grass-roots initiative is the California State Grange, one of the leading partners in this historic effort.

“The California State Grange has long supported the idea that GMOs (genetically modified organisms) in the food supply should be adequately tested and that consumers are entitled to know what’s in food they eat,” according to a news release from the Grange. “The American people agree. Yet despite overwhelming support for GMO labeling, for over a decade regulators and legislators at the national and state level have largely ignored public concerns.”

In fact, not only has the Food and Drug Administration ignored these concerns, but the agency is now fast-tracking the approval for human consumption of the first-ever genetically engineered animal, AquaBounty Atlantic salmon, better known as “Frankenfish.”

That’s why the Committee for the Right to Know is taking the issue directly to the voters of California. Now, with petitions in hand, over 1,500 volunteers will be gathering signatures at stores and farmers markets up and down the state.

“The bottom line is Californians have a right to know what’s in the food we eat and feed our children. It’s time to send a strong, direct message to those who govern us, whether they be agency or elected, that we want genetically engineered foods labeled,” says Pamm Larry, founder of the Committee For the Right to Know.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are often called genetically engineered (GE). The correct scientific term is “transgenics.” This is a process whereby the genes of one species are inserted into another species. For the purposes of this initiative, the term does not include hybrids, selective breeding, grafting or MAS (Marker Assisted Selection).