Washington activists pushing for new labeling requirements for genetically modified foods

Washington activists pushing for new labeling requirements for genetically modified foods | PRI.ORG

Washington State voters will get to pass judgment on a ballot initiative requiring food products that contain genetically modified organisms to be labeled accordingly.

The move comes on the heals of a similar measure in California, Prop 37, being defeated at the ballot box in November after fierce lobbying by the food industry.

Trudy Bialic, director of public affairs at PCC Natural Markets in Washington, says part of the controversy has been around labeling genetically modified salmon, which is about to gain FDA approval.

"The fishing industry doesn’t even want genetically engineered salmon approved. But if it’s approved, at least give them labeling to protect the identity, the integrity, and the value of the wild salmon industry that we have here — the commercial fishing industry," she said.

The labeling law, Bialic says, supports what fisherman and apple growers in the state are asking for.
But genetically engineered apples and wheat are already planted in the state.