Effort gets underway to require GMO food labeling

The Petaluma Seed Bank bustled on Monday night as more than 20 people munched on organic ice cream and cookies and talked about what they saw as the dangers of genetically modified food. The reason for the meeting: A 2012 ballot initiative that would require labeling of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, when they are sold in grocery stores.

Concern over GMOs - food whose DNA has been altered by humans - has increased in recent years. Many say that the dangers of such food haven't been adequately tested, while consumers continue to unknowingly buy products containing GMOs.

In 2005, GMOs became a heated issue on the county ballot, when opponents proposed a measure that would have imposed a 10-year ban on growing or selling genetically-altered crops within the county.

Farm, ranch and grape grower organizations fought back, arguing that the ban would unfairly impact local agriculture, and the measure failed.

Now, a statewide group has sprung up to tackle the issue once again, but with a different strategy. The California Committee for the Right to Know is hoping to gather the 800,000 signatures necessary to place an initiative on the state ballot.

It's called The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act. Rather than banning GMOs, it would require food sold in grocery stores to be labeled if it contained genetically altered products. It would also prohibit such food from being advertised as "natural."

"We feel people have the right to know what they're feeding their families," said Karen Hudson, who is co-coordinating signature gathering for Sonoma County.

The Sonoma County Farm Bureau, which opposed the 2005 measure, couldn't be reached for comment on the new initiative Wednesday.

The Right to Know committee can't start collecting signatures until Feb. 18 because the committee had to reword its initiative, said Hudson, though it was hoping to start in January.

Meanwhile, organizers in Petaluma are working to recruit signature gatherers. Tuesday's meeting at the Seed Bank was one of several planned.

"People are raring to go," said Tim Nonn, who is coordinating the effort for Petaluma.

Surrounded by GMO-free seeds and paintings of fresh fruits and vegetables, participants took turns saying what brought them: Some came because of concerns over their children eating genetically modified food, an older woman and a younger man came as gardeners who said they wanted to know more about what they put in their bodies, while one young woman said she just wanted to learn more about the issue.

About 400 people have signed up to gather signatures in the county, said Hudson, though only 125 or so have been trained.

The next event to recruit and train signature gatherers will take place at the Seed Bank on Thursday, Jan. 26, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

(Contact Jamie Hansen at jamie.hansen@argus courier.com)

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