By michael - September, 16th 2014

The California Senate Health Committee passed SB 1381, a bill to require the labeling of genetically engineered foods in California introduced by Senator Noreen Evans. Center for Food Safety’s west coast director Rebecca Spector testified on behalf of the bill.

“One of the great freedoms we have as Americans is the basic right to choose from a variety of different foods in the marketplace. However these freedoms are being denied to the more than 90 percent of Americans who want to know if their food is produced using genetic engineering, because these products are not required to be labeled in the U.S,” said Spector. “SB 1381 is a step toward protecting these state interests, and we are very pleased that the Senate Health Committee passed.

But it needs to go through either the Senate Judiciary or Agriculture Committee and is expected to be heard this week at the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Energy Fanatics highlighted some points from the bill (changes in the bill's text are possible):

• California consumers have the right to know whether the foods they purchase were genetically modified, so they can make informed purchasing decisions.
• Many nationwide polls have shown that the majority of the American people support GMO labeling.
• There is currently no federal or California law that requires genetically modified food to be labeled, which is why bill SB 1381 needs to become a law.
• 64 countries already have laws mandating the labeling of GMO, including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Russia, Malaysia and the European Union member states.
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t require safety studies of GMO and therefore more studies need to be done on …

California Senate Bill 1381 will more likely reflect a more educated voter base, since the anti-GMO tide has been washing like a tidal wave across the nation. Over 6 million Californians voted for GE labeling in the previous Prop 37 polls, and of the 21% who didn’t vote, they said they were in favor of labeling, so this time SB 1381 should pass.

The bill passed the Senate Health Committee by a vote of 5 – 2, with two absent. It will now move on to either the Senate Judiciary or Agriculture Committee, to be determined by the Rules Committee.

Please Read this Article at NaturalBlaze.com

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