Campaign to Label GM Foods Moves To Washington State

More than enough signatures were filed in Washington State, 24 hours before today's deadline, to send an initiative to the Legislature that would require the labeling of genetically engineered foods sold at retail.

January 4, 2012 | Source: Food Safety News | by

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More than enough signatures were filed in Washington State, 24 hours before today’s deadline, to send an initiative to the Legislature that would require the labeling of genetically engineered foods sold at retail.

If the Washington State Legislature does not adopt the measure, it will move on to the November general election ballot. Washington law also gives the legislature the option of referring its own alternative version of an initiative directly to voters.

Backers of the GMO labeling measure, known as Initiative 522, collected 340,000 signatures, more than the 241,153 valid voter signatures required by state law to qualify as an initiative to the legislature.

The Secretary of State’s spokesman said I-522 “would 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.”

I-522 is similar to California’s Proposition 37, which was defeated last November.