California voters rejected a ballot initiative that would label foods containing genetically modified organisms just over a year ago, but the issue continues to persist in Napa County.

The Napa County Local Food Advisory Council is preparing a recommendation to send to the Board of Supervisors supporting labeling such foods, Agricultural Commissioner Greg Clark said.

The recommendation is currently in draft form, but should reach the elected officials in the new year, Clark said. It would urge state and federal agencies and officials to support labeling, as they have the regulatory authority to impose that requirement.

The push locally proves that, despite a loss at the polls in November 2012, activists continue to press the issue. Proposition 37, which would have required the labeling, failed when it garnered 48.6 percent support, needing a simple majority to pass, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office.

Opponents of the initiative, which were well-funded by agricultural and industrial interests, outspent proponents $45 million to $6.7 million.

A subcommittee of the food council is working on the recommendation, Clark said, and is planning to bring it to the full council at its meeting in January.

With the council’s support, it would then move onto the Napa County Board of Supervisors. Clark was uncertain if it would need to go through the board’s legislative subcommittee, or if it could be put on the full board’s agenda for a discussion and potential vote.

Community members pressed local elected officials to take a stance on the issues, and retiring Agricultural Commissioner Dave Whitmer and Clark felt the food council was the appropriate place to debate it.

“The food council was the perfect entity to have that discussion,” Clark said.

The debate over GMOs fosters sharply different points of view on the health of foods containing GMOs, and the need to label them in the name of consumers’ rights. Clark acknowledged the challenge in keeping the debate solely on labeling and not debate health issues.

“Sometimes it’s a challenge to keep the focus on labeling,” Clark said. “There’s a tendency among people to passionately state their interest.”

Clark said the recommendation is careful to focus only on labeling, and not stray into the broader debate about GMOs.

“We’ve been very deliberate to say this is about labeling — just labeling,” Clark said.

from:    http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/county-may-be-asked-to-vote-on-gmo-labels/article_68a7d3e4-726c-11e3-a3ff-001a4bcf887a.html