For related articles and more information, please visit OCA’s Genetic Engineering page and our Millions Against Monsanto page, and our California News page.
It’s official. Angelenos may be able to vote on a new ballot initiative come November and see a new food label at grocery stores soon thereafter.

According to Debra Bowen, Secretary of State, Californians may now add their signatures to a new ballot initiative mandating labeling of genetically engineered foods being sold in raw or packaged form. Currently, genetically engineered foods or those containing genetically engineered ingredients need not be labeled. These foods are popularly known as GMOs (or Genetically Modified Organisms) and refer to plants and animals that have been genetically modified in the laboratory, often through the insertion of genes from different species, in order to favor certain traits.

One well-known type of GMO is a type of corn owned by the Monsanto Corporation, which is engineered to survive being sprayed with herbicide. The benefit of growing this corn lies in the ability of farmers to spray the crop and kill all the weeds in the field without harming the corn plants. Some brands of food providers choose to label their foods as free of genetically engineered ingredients by noting the product as “GMO-free” or similar, but this is purely voluntary.

Some groups who support the labeling of genetically engineered foods point to a pool of research suggesting genetically engineered foods may have unhealthy effects on the human body, including organ failure, according to studies done in recent years. Other groups point to a long-term environmental toll, decreased food security due to dwindling variety in food crops and concerns over seed patents increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few large corporations.