At the Seattle Justice Begins with Seeds Conference, Florence Vincent talks about the Yes On 522 campaign, shows a box of Kellogg’s cereal she purchased in the UK and driving grandmother, Label GMOs Initial Instigator and Chief Robble Rouser Pamm Larry around the state on her September Grassroots Speaking Tour.
• Nation Weighs In On State’s Genetically Engineered Food Label Law Initiative
By Cindy Teixeira, Nisqually Valley News Correspondent
Seen around the Nisqually Valley and Olympia quite a lot lately is “Poppy,” the fishy corncob which sits atop a small Ford driven by Florence Vincent.
It grabs attention wherever it goes just as it’s meant to do, she said.
“It’s so much fun to drive,” she said.
“Poppy” is one of five “fishy” cars that will soon be making their way around the state to bring awareness to Initiative 522, a law requiring genetically modified foods to be labeled.
The other cars are “K-Sup,” the fishy tomato; “Rooty,” a fishy sugar beet; “Goldie,” a fishy apple; and “Soja Girl,” fishy soy.
The cars are on tour across the country and several arrived in time to make an appearance at Seattle’s Hempfest last month.
Washington has become the battleground for GMO labeling since a similar bill in California was defeated. According to Vincent, the law was trounced by opponents of labeling because they spent a lot of money to frighten people into thinking labeling would cost consumers more at the register.
Vincent bought a box of American brand-name cereal on a recent trip to England and totes it around to prove her point. The box has no GMO label because, she said, the company decided to change the recipe in order to avoid having to label it.
“It only cost me $3,” she said.
I-522 means different things depending who you ask.
For two Yelm women, labeling provides information which helps them shop. To Rosie Sowles, labeling means freedom to decide for herself, while Kathy Peterson believes non-GMO food tastes better.
Opponents say GMO food is scientifically safe and there is no need to scare people away from it with labels.
Proponents say they want to know which food is genetically modified. Some will extol the evils of genetically modified food, but I-522 is not about food safety, per se.
I-522 separates itself as supporting a consumer’s right-to-know and leaves the crusade against GMOs out of the discussion.
In a recent email, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said she supports efforts to “promote agricultural research, food safety, nutrition education and consumer awareness.”
She supports consumer awareness “without imposing extraordinary burdens on producers.”
“During Senate floor consideration of the 2013 Farm Bill, Senator Sanders offered an amendment to allow states to have a label indicating that the food, beverage, or other edible product contains a genetically engineered or genetically modified ingredient.
“I supported this amendment, but it failed by a vote of 27 to 71,” Murray said.
