An Illinois-shaped mural decked in comments about labeling genetically engineered food sat outside Big Grove Tavern on Thursday afternoon.

The mural was part of the campaign “Let Me Decide” by the national organization Food and Water Watch. The initiative seeks to get genetically engineered, or GE, foods labeled. Community members wrote phrases like: “I have the right to know!” and “What goes in my body is my choice” on the board.

“We’ve had over 1,100 residents of the Champaign-Urbana area sign postcards in support of this issue,” said Hanna Saltzman, local representative for Food and Water Watch. 

She said the campaign wasn’t focused on Chicago anymore because Representative Deborah Mell, D-40, has already agreed to introduce the GE labeling legislation into the Illinois House of Representatives in January.

“There’s a lot of national momentum for this issue,” Saltzman said.

Recently, the ballot initiative Proposition 37 in California to label genetically engineered foods failed by a margin of six percent. Saltzman said Californians were thrown into voting on the issue, without an explanation of what it was. Food and Water Watch hopes to educate citizens of Illinois on the issue, in preparation for potentially voting on it.

Stephen Moose, professor in Crop Sciences, said big companies do not want to label GE food because it would cost a lot of money to test each product and see what type of GE crop was in each one. He said labeling in one state would be even more costly, because the testing would only have to be done for that state, causing its food prices to rise.

“It’s not that companies are trying to hide stuff,” Moose said. “It’s because, if that passed, it would be more expensive for them to sell their product.” 

He said the FDA tested GE foods, so the food industry saw labeling as unnecessary. If consumers learned the sciences behind GE technology, they wouldn’t be afraid of it, Moose said. 

Back at Big Grove Tavern, David Bane, farmer and veterinarian, spoke about why he thought GE food should be labeled.

“No long-term or multi-generational studies have been done on genetically engineered foods or feed grains,” Bane said. “A number of independent short-term studies link genetically engineered foods to a host of health issues including obesity and allergies.”

Bane said although genetically engineered foods make up over 90 percent of corn, soybeans and canola in the U.S., the world consensus is that genetically engineered ingredients are not safe. Over 50 countries have mandatory labeling and several banned GE foods altogether.

“With these (genetically engineered) products, they are not sold unless they are reviewed by the government,” Moose said. “A lot of the opposition to (genetically modified) is really anti-corporation, which is a very popular thing.”

Champaign resident Judy Molly was the last to put her phrase on the mural. It read: “The birds, the bees, and the butterflies deserve a world where it is safe to eat, to drink, and to alight…and so do all other living things.”

Food and Water Watch has scheduled a meeting with Senator Mike Frerichs, D-52, next week to discuss introducing a companion bill to Chicago’s House of Representatives bill in the senate. Saltzman said in a press release she wants to live in a world in which people know the food they are eating is safe.

“In Illinois, we’re building a base of people who are informed,” Saltzman said. “We’re educating people and we’re giving people the power to speak up for what they care about.”

Claire can be reached at                          [email protected].

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly quoted Judy Molly’s phrase on the mural as “The birds, the bees, and the butterflies deserve a world where it is okay to eat, to drink, and to alight…and so do all other living things.” The phrase said “safe.” The Daily Illini regrets this error.