Efforts to require labels on Genetically Engineered foods (often refereed to as GM or GE foods) advanced in the far ends of the U.S. this week. And in Oregon’s Jackson County, a mostly rural area that includes part of the Rogue Vally, a Farm Bill will soon be decided that would go even further.
Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed a bill on Thursday April 24, 2014 that makes Vermont the first state in the U.S. to require labels on foods that contain GM ingredients. Two other New England states, Maine and Connecticut, have passed GM labeling laws, but they will not take effect unless neighboring states also pass labeling laws.
In Oregon, a petition effort is underway to get a GM labeling bill on the Oregon ballot this Fall. The proposed bill, which is similar to Initiative 522 that failed in Washington State in November 2013, and which would require labeling of any food that contains GM ingredients, is being actively promoted by a group known as Oregon Right To Know.
At the same time, Farm Measure 15-119, which will be decided by residents of Jackson County, Oregon in late May 2014, would outlaw altogether the growing of GM crops.