Sen. Chase leads the way on hearing establishing GMO food labeling system : Washington State Senate Democrats

Sen. Chase leads the way on hearing establishing GMO food labeling system : Washington State Senate Democrats



If you are what you eat, then you ought to be able to know what you're eating.

That was the message Thursday during a hearing in the Senate Agriculture, Water & Rural Economic Development Committee as advocates for Initiative 522 turned out in the hundreds. If it is not passed by the legislature I-522 will become a ballot measure.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association estimates that between 75 to 80 percent of all processed foods available on grocery store shelves contain GMOs. There are also many types of crops such as corn, soybeans and rice in which some type of genetic modification occurs and other crops which are in the development stages of genetic engineering.

For the most part, the jury is still out when it comes to the health implications of ingesting food which contain genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. But the verdict is certainly in on the fiscal impacts of not labeling GMO food as such. Over 60 markets around the world, many of which are trade partners with Washington farmers, will not import foods that have a genetically modified equivalent.