Local farmers come down on both sides of I-522

How is it different from conventional plant or animal breeding?

With conventional breeding, reproduction can only occur between closely related species. A corn plant, for example, can only mate with another corn plant or a closely related species. With genetic engineering, however, any gene from any organism can be transferred to a different organism.

SOURCE: Center for Science in the Public Interest

Washington’s GMO vote will be scrutinized nationally

What a “Yes” vote means

The measure would impose labeling requirements on genetically engineered foods and seeds offered for retail sale in Washington.Beginning July 1, 2015, the measure would require genetically engineered raw agricultural commodities to be labeled “genetically engineered” and genetically engineered packaged processed foods would have to be labeled “partially produced with genetic engineering” or “may be partially produced with genetic engineering. “Beginning July 1, 2015, the measure also would require that genetically engineered seeds and seed stock be labeled “genetically engineered” or “produced with genetic engineering.”The measure would exempt the following foods from the labeling requirements:

• Alcoholic beverages.

• Certified organic foods.

• Foods not produced using genetic engineering, as certified by an approved independent organization.

• Foods served in restaurants or in food service establishments.

o “Medical food.”

o Foods consisting of or derived from animals that have themselves not been genetically engineered, regardless of whether the animal has been fed any genetically engineered food.

“It’s been a really amazing, truly, truly grass-roots effort,” White said. “I’ve never really seen anything like this grass-roots campaign.”

They’ve canvassed neighborhoods, held rallies and waved signs. They’ve brought in speakers and given their own speeches at neighborhood association meetings. They’ve held potlucks, fundraisers and documentary-viewing parties. They’ve handed out fliers, paid for out of their own pockets.

“We’re not professionals,” White said. “We’re just neighbors.”

Gibson, a lifelong Vancouver resident, decided to get involved in the movement after experiencing an allergic reaction she attributes to genetically modified corn. Food packaging in the U.S. already labels major food allergens such as peanuts and wheat. Gibson believes GMOs should be labeled for the same reason.

“There are folks that are highly sensitive to allergens,” she said. “They should be able to avoid foods that cause serious repercussions.”

Gibson painstakingly reads labels to ensure GMOs do not end up in her home. But without clear labels, it can be difficult to know whether an ingredient has been genetically modified, she said.

“We’re not asking people to decide on GMOs,” Gibson said. “We’re just asking them to let us know.”

For Foster-Stewart, that right to know drives her to stay involved in the campaign.

“I should be able to have the right to go to the store and say ‘no’ (to GMOs),” she said. “And my neighbor has the same right to go to the store and say, ‘I don’t care. I’m going to eat it.’ “

Clark County consumers aren’t the only ones speaking out in favor of GMO labeling.

Matt Schwab — who operates a Ridgefield farm, Inspiration Plantation, with his wife, Jen — is a steadfast supporter of I-522.

“If the ingredients in what I am eating have had their genes spliced with bacteria, I want to know about it,” Schwab said. “I want the ability to make a choice. Without the information clearly labeled, there is no choice for me or you.”

Inspiration Plantation specializes in pasture-raised chicken, turkey and pork and grass-fed lamb and beef. The Schwabs also use organic methods to grow fruits and vegetables that they sell in their farm store.

I-522 does not require the labeling of animals and animal products — such as eggs and milk — that have not been genetically engineered, even if the animal was fed genetically engineered food. Even if such animals had to be labeled, it wouldn’t affect the Schwabs. They give their animals only certified organic, GMO-free feed.

Currently, no genetically modified animals are approved for human consumption. However, a company is petitioning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve its genetically engineered salmon, which grow twice as fast as normal.

Schwab believes I-522 is a good first step toward more accurate food labeling. He suspects groups opposing the initiative are worried that when given the option of purchasing products that haven’t been genetically modified, consumers will choose GMO-free foods.

“It is truly amazing a company like Monsanto, that touts its technology as the saving grace of humanity, will spend millions of dollars fighting an initiative that discloses the use of its technology,” Schwab said of the Fortune 500 company that produces genetically modified seeds and herbicides.

522 opposition

Other Clark County farmers, however, are taking a stand against I-522.

The Clark Cowlitz Farm Bureau, the local chapter of a national volunteer advocacy organization, voted unanimously to oppose I-522, said Gary Boldt, president of the local bureau and owner of Velvet Acres Gardens in Proebstel.