Proposal reignites genetically modified foods debate
By Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times
SACRAMENTO — The high-stakes battle over labeling foods with genetically engineered ingredients is back.
Less than two years after California voters narrowly turned down a labeling ballot measure, the state Senate is grappling with the issue. The 2012 campaign cost the food industry $46 million to fight, five times more than the amount spent by the measure’s proponents.
By a 5-2 vote last week, the Health Committee approved Senate Bill 1381, by Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, which would require labeling of genetically engineered bulk and packaged foods beginning in 2016. The legislation goes to the Rules Committee and perhaps the Agriculture Committee, where it could face trouble.
The proposal defines genetic engineering as the manipulation of genes in a laboratory to make them resistant to certain pesticides or diseases.
