Published: Friday, January 4, 2013, 12:01 a.m.

The move came two months after California voters rejected a similar measure that pitted food safety advocates against agricultural and biotechnology giants in a roughly $55 million advertising battle.

Opponents of the food labeling argue it will raise food prices and hurt farmers. Supporters contend that consumers should have a choice about eating genetically engineered products, even if the federal government and major science groups say such foods are safe to eat.

Proponents promised to take their fight to the Northwest after the California ballot measure failed. On Thursday, initiative sponsors delivered 350,000 petition signatures to state officials inside an ambulance with a sign on the side reading Label GMO Food.

To qualify for the ballot, it requires at least 241,153 signatures of registered state voters, though the secretary of state's office suggests collecting at least 320,000 as a buffer for duplicate or invalid signatures.

Initiative 522 would require food and seeds produced entirely or partly through genetic engineering and sold in Washington to be labeled as such, beginning July 1, 2015. Raw foods that are not packaged separately would have to be labeled on retail shelves.

Supporters say consumers benefit from having more information.

Yes, you can steer clear of certain items, but unless you know that they're there, how do you know to steer clear of them? asked Chris McManus, the initiative sponsor and owner of a small advertising firm. Putting a label on the front of that just informs the consumer a little bit more about what they're buying.

The nation's food labeling system already is built around giving consumers information about health and safety, countered Heather Hansen, executive director of Washington Friends of Farms and Forests.

We think this is really intended to be a scare tactic, to ultimately scare people away from technology, she said. And it's not providing any meaningful information.

Link:
Measure would require labels for genetically modified food

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