GMO labeling measure to be on November ballot - KPTV - FOX 12

GMO labeling measure to be on November ballot - KPTV - FOX 12:



KPTV - FOX 12

PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) -
Genetic modified labels may soon be appearing on food packages that you buy here in Oregon.

A new measure will let Oregon voters decide if they want to know what's in their food.

If you go to the grocery store many of the items you find on the shelves may have genetically modified organisms, also known as GMO's.

If the new initiative passes it would let customers know what is in their food.

"The intention of Measure 92 is simple, it merely requires that food produced using genetic energy, be labeled as such," said Aurora Paulsen, an attorney with the Senate for Food Safety.

The group known as Oregon Right To Know collected more than 155,000 signatures to get this initiative on the ballot.

"If you're one of the small handful of consumers who is affluent enough to be able to afford more organic food, great. However; we think the rest of us all deserve to be able to know whether our food is genetically engineered," said David Rosenfeld, the Executive Director at OSPIRG.

Measure 92 already has dozens of supporters and the campaign behind the measure calls this is really a grass roots effort.

Whole Foods Market is one of the supports of the measure.

It says it wants families to know what's in their food so they can make informed choices.

The grocer already has some labels listing items that are verified as non-GMO.

In March 2013, Whole Foods Market became the first national grocer to set a deadline for full GMO transparency. By 2018, all food in Whole Foods Market's in the U.S. and Canada must be labeled to indicate if they contain GMOs.

"We believe that passing Measure 92 in Oregon will be an important milestone leading to one federal standard for labeling GMO's" said Mary Crowe, with Whole Foods Market.