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Initiative Measure No. 522 concerns labeling of genetically-engineered foods.

This measure would require most raw agricultural commodities, processed foods, and seeds and seed stocks, if produced using genetic engineering, as defined, to be labeled as genetically engineered when offered for retail sale.

Written by the Office of the Attorney General

The Law as it Presently Exists
In general, federal law regulates the safety and quality of food shipped between states, while Washington law regulates the safety and quality of food produced and sold within the state. Both federal and state law identify and regulate foods that are “misbranded” or “adulterated,” but neither state nor federal law requires any specific labeling of foods produced using genetic engineering.

Under Washington law, the director of the state Department of Agriculture is authorized to condemn, seize, and destroy misbranded or adulterated foods and food items. Washington law defines food and food products as “misbranded” where labeling or packaging is false or misleading, and “adulterated” if they contain some added substance that is poisonous or harmful to health, or if they are contaminated, diseased, putrid, or otherwise unfit as food or injurious to health. State law imposes many specific labeling and packaging requirements and prohibitions for food and food products, but it does not require any specific labeling of genetically engineered foods. No provision of state law treats genetically engineered food as adulterated.

Washington law also authorizes the director of the state Department of Agriculture to stop the sale of mislabeled agricultural seeds, flower seeds, and vegetable seeds sold in Washington, and to condemn and seize the seeds if necessary. Seeds are considered to be misbranded if they are not accurately labeled in compliance with state law, but existing state law does not require that genetically engineered seeds be labeled as genetically engineered.

The Effect of the Proposed Measure, if Approved – Read what it says carefully

The measure would impose labeling requirements on genetically engineered foods and seeds offered for retail sale in Washington. The measure defines “genetically engineered” to mean changes to genetic material produced through techniques that directly insert DNA or RNA into organisms or that use cell fusion techniques to overcome natural barriers to cell multiplication or recombination.

Beginning July 1, 2015, any food produced using “genetic engineering” that is not labeled as required in the measure would be considered “misbranded.” The measure would require genetically engineered raw agricultural commodities to be labeled conspicuously with the words “genetically engineered,” and genetically engineered packaged processed foods would have to be labeled conspicuously with the words “partially produced with genetic engineering” or “may be partially produced with genetic engineering.” The measure would exempt the following foods from the labeling requirements: alcoholic beverages; certified organic foods; foods not produced using genetic engineering, as certified by an approved independent organization; foods served in restaurants or in food service establishments; “medical food”; and foods consisting of or derived from animals that have themselves not been genetically engineered, regardless of whether the animal has been fed any genetically engineered food; and processed foods produced using genetically engineered processing aids or enzymes. Processed foods containing small amounts of genetically engineered materials would be exempt until July 1, 2019.

Beginning July 1, 2015, the measure also would require that genetically engineered seeds and seed stock be labeled conspicuously with the words “genetically engineered” or “produced with genetic engineering.”

The measure provides that its requirements are to be implemented and enforced by the state Department of Health, instead of the state Department of Agriculture, and would authorize the Department of Health to assess a civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars per day for each violation. The Department of Health, acting through the Attorney General, could bring an action in superior court to enjoin a person violating the measure. Separately, after giving sixty days notice, any private person could bring an action in superior court to enjoin a person violating the measure, and potentially recover costs and attorney fees for the action.

Please click on the link below for EVERYTHING you might need to know before voting YES or NO on I522

https://weiapplets.sos.wa.gov/MyVote/OnlineVotersGuide/Measures?language=en&electionId=50&countyCode=xx&ismyVote=False&electionTitle=2013%20General%20Election%20#ososTop

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I have had quite a few people say I have to vote yes or that at least this is a start …

I think I522 doesn’t go far enough and consumers need better reasons for why some things are not included while others are …and I

have a problem with the timing of I522. I need to have everything labeled … period

Why do we have to wait until 2015 and why should we trust that these people providing us with food are truly organic given what we know popped up in organic farms(the good bad and the really ugly) I am slightly offended by the notion that we must take them at face value and isn’t it a bit disingenuous to think accidents don’t happen lest we talk about cheaters or the corrupt.

I want everything labeled

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UCS and Nuclear Weapons

11/08/2013 Nativegrl77

Nuclear weapons have become a security liability, not an asset. Since these weapons were first invented and used nearly 70 years ago, the world has become a much different place. The Cold War has been over for a quarter century, yet the United States and Russia still have thousands of nuclear weapons, hundreds of which are kept on hair-trigger alert, raising the risk of an accidental or unauthorized launch in the absence of any credible threat. Despite the president’s commitment not to build new nuclear weapons, the administration is now planning to spend tens of billions of dollars to do so. In 2009, President Obama pledged to seek a world free of nuclear weapons, but he must take strong steps now if we are to see any real progress during his tenure. —Karla

This Just In

The future of nuclear weapons in the U.S.

The future of nuclear weapons in the United States? To safely reduce the number of nuclear weapons in this country, we must ensure that those we do have remain reliable, safe, and secure. But what does that require? A new UCS report, Making Smart Security Choices, takes a big-picture look at the laboratories and facilities that research, design, produce, and maintain nuclear weapons and recommends cost-effective changes that will improve national security and save taxpayers money. MORE

Ask a Scientist

“How much does it cost to create a single nuclear weapon?”—Z. Witmond, New York, NY

Although the United States hasn’t built a new nuclear warhead or bomb since the 1990s, it has refurbished several types in recent years to extend their lifetime. It also plans to replace its entire arsenal with a suite of five new weapon types over the next 25 to 30 years, violating the spirit if not the letter of President Obama’s 2010 pledge not to develop new nuclear warheads. This plan, along with modest reductions in the U.S. arsenal of both deployed and reserve weapons, will cost taxpayers some $250 billion in the next few decades. That’s roughly equal to 30 years of federal funding for Head Start programs for kids at 2012 enrollment levels. MORE

Lisbeth Gronlund

Lisbeth Gronlund, Ph.D., Co-Director, Global Security Program

Follow Lisbeth’s blog >>

Science in Action

Missile defense: costly and unproven. There are much better ways to alleviate the threat of missile attack than by spending billions of dollars to build a missile defense system with an abysmal track record that will not make Americans safer. Urge your senators to oppose funding for costly, unproven, missile defense sites and to instead work to alleviate the threat posed by nuclear weapons in more sensible ways.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Rock Bottom

10/01/2013 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

Think Progress

GOP Prepares to Take Us Over the Brink

In just a few hours the federal government will shut down for the first time in 17 years unless House Republicans stop wasting time on anti-Obamacare ransom notes and instead agree to a real compromise — a short-term funding bill at sequester spending levels — that will keep the government open.

Unfortunately, Republicans appear to care far more about more dead-end votes on Obamacare than about avoiding a damaging government shutdown.

Late Saturday, the House passed a measure that demanded a one-year halt to Obamacare in return for keeping the government open for just over two months. It also included a repugnant attack on women’s access to affordable birth control that would allow employers to deny birth control coverage to their female employees.

The Senate rejected this ransom note earlier this afternoon, but it appears that House Republicans are simply readying another equally unacceptable anti-Obamacare measure instead of a serious bill to keep the government open.

Sadly, we don’t have to wait for midnight to come to understand how damaging a government shutdown will be. Republican brinksmanship is already hurting the economy, just as it did during their manufactured debt limit crisis in 2011.

The New York Times reported today that “stock markets fell worldwide on Monday as political disagreements in Washington made a shutdown on Monday night increasingly likely.” “Investors are worried that even a temporary government shutdown could endanger an already weak economic recovery,” the Times added.

The Business Roundtable, a group representing corporate CEOs,surveyed its members and found that “half of top executives said the budget fights were crimping their hiring plans.”

The worst for the economy is of course yet to come:

A shutdown lasting three-to-four weeks could directly cost the government more than $2 BILLION, not including billions in more in costs to the economy thanks to plunging confidence among consumers and investors. Indeed, a shutdown could cost the economy $10 BILLION per week.

A government shutdown along with threats of an unprecedented default on our obligations, which Republicans are also threatening, is“corrosive on the economy,” according to Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. Moody’s estimates that a shutdown lasting three-to-four weeks could slash economic growth by as much as 1.4 percentage points.

The Washington Post notes that a shutdown lasting longer than a week “would suck money out of the economy and spread anxiety among consumers and businesses in a way that is likely to hold back economic activity.”

Fears over the impact to the economy led the GOP-leaning U.S. Chamber of Commerce and more than 230 other business groups to write to lawmakers last week “urging them to keep the government open.”

Shutting down the government tonight will kneecap the economy and hurt millions of Americans, but ironically it will do nothing to actually stop Obamacare. Indeed,tomorrow marks the opening of insurance marketplaces that will allow millions of Americans, many of whom are currently insured or who have never had insurance, to shop for a quality, affordable health plan.

“An important part of the Affordable Care Act takes effect tomorrow no matter what Congress decides to do today,” said President Obama late this afternoon. “The Affordable Care Act is moving forward. That funding is already in place. You can’t shut it down. ”

Given the Republicans’ spiteful fixation on denying health care to millions of Americans, it’s no wonder that a poll out today found that the approval rating of Congress has dropped to just 10 percent — an all-time low. Other recent polls have found overwhelming disapproval for the GOP and its actions:

Just 7 percent of Americans back the GOP’s plan to delay and defund Obamacare. And less than one-third of Americans (26 percent) support the GOP’s ultimate and oft-stated goal of completely repealing Obamacare.

A whopping 68 percent of Americans want the law to move forward as is or with improvements.

More than two-thirds of Americans (68 percent) agree that shutting down the government for even a few days is “a bad thing for the country.”

Six in ten Americans also agree that it is more important for Congress to avoid shutting down the government than preventing Obamacare from moving forward.

An overwhelming 80 percent of Americans agree that threatening a government shutdown is not an acceptable way to negotiate.

Just 19 percent of Americans believe that it’s worth shutting down the government in order to defund Obamacare. That means that about half of the small minority of Americans who actually favor defunding Obamacare still oppose shutting down the government in order to do so.

More than two-thirds of Americans (69 percent) say Republicans in Congress “have acted mostly like spoiled children during the recent debate over the federal budget.”

Another poll found that just 26 percent of Americans approve of how Republicans in Congress have handled negotiations over the federal budget.

It’s also no wonder then that if the government shuts down tonight, the public will, correctly, blame Republicans. One poll out today found that a majority of Americans (51 percent) say they will blame Republicans in Congress “a lot” if the government shuts down, which is consistent with the findings of other recent polls.

BOTTOM LINE: It’s sadly once again clear that Republicans will do anything — including shutting down the government and sabotaging the economy — in order to stop millions of Americans from gaining the security of quality, affordable health care.

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Something Big’s Happening

09/27/2013 Nativegrl77

The White House, Washington

Starting October 1st, Americans will have access to the Health Insurance Marketplace — a new, simpler way to compare plans and purchase health insurance — all in one place. The Marketplace will be run in partnership with states or fully by HHS in 36 states. In these 36 states, consumers will have a choice of 53 health plans on average, and young adults will have even more low-cost options.

In partnership with HealthCare.gov, we’ve created a map to help you explore a summary of the choices and premiums expected to be available on October 1st.

See the map and learn more about the Marketplace.

Delivering on the Affordable Care Act: Marketplace Premiums Lower than Expected

At the center of the Affordable Care Act is the premise that we need to make health care more affordable and accessible for more Americans, and a new report released today demonstrates just how affordable insurance will be. The report, released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), finds that in state after state, affordable options will be available through the Health Insurance Marketplace in 2014.

Yesterday, President Obama delivered a speech at UNGA — the United Nations General Assembly — in New York City. The President expressed optimism at the prospects for diplomacy in solving a range of long-simmering conflicts across the globe.

Last Friday, President Obama delivered remarks at a suburban Kansas City, MO Ford Motor Co. stamping plant — a plant that recently had to bring on a shift of 900 workers to keep up with the demand for the new F-150.

Marissa Graciosa, Reform Immigration FOR America

09/26/2013 Nativegrl77

Tell your representative to show leadership and pass immigration reform now!

I’ve learned a powerful lesson in my years of organizing: you get what you ask for. With countless activists like you making calls, joining rallies and marches, and even risking arrest to ask for nothing less than a fair pathway to citizenship as part of immigration reform legislation, all we need now is for our representatives in the House to come forward and lead on the issue.

While our communities show true courage, our legislators in the House of Representatives are hiding. They are choosing political theater over working together to fix our broken immigration system. They are hiding from our demands for bold action to keep our families together.

It’s time the House followed our lead. We’re sending postcards directly to Congressional offices with images of our communities showing real leadership and a message demanding action. Send your representative a clear message: “Real leaders don’t hide. Pass immigration reform in 2013.”

We elect our members of Congress to lead, yet the House has failed to do so by refusing to take action. We must remind them that, as representatives of the people, they answer to us — and we challenge them to model the bravery and leadership that thousands are demonstrating in the streets every day by passing immigration reform this year.

We are closer now than we have ever been to passing real reform, and our representatives need to know that we aren’t backing down. Send your message now: step up and lead on immigration reform! Click here to send a postcard.

Standing strong,