On Oct. 8, students and Eugene residents will gather on campus to discuss Ballot Measure 92 at the GMO Labeling Voter Education Forum. If passed, Measure 92 would require the labeling of genetically altered food, both packaged and raw.

According to Food & Water Watch organizer Neil Bartholomay, the measure is not a ban on genetically modified food but a matter of transparency and empowering consumers.

“GMOs are already labeled in 64 other countries and a large percentage of food in grocery stores today are genetically modified,” Bartholomay said. “Consumers should have the right to know what’s in their food.”

According to Bartholomay, the biggest obstacle is making sure voters know the truth about the issue before the vote in November.

“Our opponents have been saying that food prices will go up or that the GMO labels will be confusing, which is not true,” Bartholomay added. “It’s a simple issue. It’s giving information to the many people who don’t want to take the risk on genetically modified food.”

During the forum, the panel will discuss GMOs, labeling and consumer rights as well as answer questions from the audience.

The panel includes Bret Diamond, Field Organizer for the Oregon Right To Know Campaign; Julia DeGraw, Northwest Organizer for Food & Water Watch; Dr. Ray Seidler, Former Senior Scientist at the US Environmental Protection Agency; and Kim Gibson Clark, General Manager at Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss. The forum will take place at 7 p.m., in room 302 of Gerlinger Hall.

Francesca Fontana will be live tweeting the event for the Emerald. Follow us live to see what happens.

Follow Francesca Fontana on Twitter: @francescamarief