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Food labels on Oregon ballot

Wednesday, July 24, 2002

By BRAD CAIN
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SALEM, Ore. -- A measure to give consumers the right to know whether the food they purchase has been genetically engineered will appear on Oregon's statewide ballot this fall.

State election officials said yesterday that sponsors of the food labeling measure turned in more than enough signatures to qualify for a spot on the November ballot.

That sets the stage for a high-profile campaign -- Oregon is the only state voting on such a measure -- that could prompt agricultural and food industry interests to spend millions to defeat the measure.

If approved by voters, the measure would require labeling of all food and food additives that have been genetically engineered.

The requirement would apply to all foods sold in Oregon -- including stores and restaurants -- as well as foods distributed from the state.

At issue is food that has been engineered with genetic material from a different plant or animal. Proponents say genetic engineering can boost the nutritional content of food, for example, or allow farmers to grow more pest-resistant crops that require less chemical treatment.

But sponsors of the labeling measure say too little is known about the long-term health effects of genetically engineered foods, and Oregon consumers should at least be able to know what they are eating.

"Science gave us asbestos as a wonderful insulating material, but then we found out it gives you lung cancer," said Katelyn Lord, co-chief petitioner for the measure. "I don't know why we as consumers have to be involved in an experiment."

Agricultural and food industry groups have hired a Portland consulting firm to help them defeat the measure this fall.

Pat McCormick, spokesman for the firm, said there's already plenty of government regulation of food quality and the measure's broadly written labeling requirements would be overly burdensome.

Most processed foods contain genetically modified corn, soy and canola ingredients, and all would have to be labeled under the measure, McCormick said.

That creates unnecessary expense, he said, because "there's really no difference between a can of soda pop that was made with genetically engineered corn syrup and one that was made with conventional syrup."

Lord said, however, that such labeling requirements already exist in Japan and parts of Europe.

"Why shouldn't we be able to know what people in other parts of the world get to know?" said Lord, a Wilsonville resident who works at a food cooperative in northwest Portland.

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