Today is Election Day in a number of states. Virginia and New Jersey will select a governor and legislators, while of more interest to agriculture, the state of Washington will vote on ballot initiative 522 to label genetically modified (GMO) foods. Under the initiative, failure to label GMO food would result in a civil penalty and each day of non-compliance would be considered a new violation.The ballot initiative itself has some language that ranges from the intriguing: Polls consistently show that the vast majority of the public wants to know if their food was produced using genetic engineering. Without disclosure, consumers of genetically engineered food unknowingly may violate their own dietary and religious restrictions. Foods i...

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