The Whatcom County Council backed away from an initial show of support for state Initiative 522, which would require labels on food with genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
I-522 is now before the Legislature but probably will not be considered until voters see it on the November ballot.
A resolution endorsing the initiative came in front of the council on Tuesday, March 26, with four of the seven members already signed on to it. Two of those four, plus the other three, ultimately rejected the resolution. The turnaround came after council members decided the state initiative and the complicated debate around it were not the council's territory.
"We could spend a lot of county resources, time and energy, and political time and energy, debating something we have no control over," said Ken Mann, one of the two who rejected the resolution after first sponsoring it. The other was Carl Weimer, who said he didn't know enough about GMO labeling to endorse I-522.
Council voted 5-2 Tuesday to drop the resolution from consideration, with Barbara Brenner and Pete Kremen voting no. Brenner wrote the resolution.
"I did do my homework," Brenner said. "I think this is a right for people to know what they're getting."
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Whatcom County Council decides not to support GMO initiative | Local News | The Bellingham Herald
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