Baylen Linnekin Warns Against Washington State's Wrongheaded GMO Labeling Initiative
Much of the labeling fight that's going on these days is not so much about a consumer's right to adequate information as it is about a select group forcing the government to unfairly stigmatize foods they don't like and that they're competing against. Take Washington State's mandatory GMO labeling ballot initiative, I-522, which goes before voters in the state next week. A recent report by Washington State's independent Academy of Sciences concluded that I-522 would likely raise grocery prices in the state. Instead of mandatory labeling, writes Baylen Linnekin, consumers who support GMO farming or don't care about GMOs should be free to seek out foods they want. And if there's enough support among those consumers for private "Contains GMO" labeling, then those labels will likely appear.