Los Angeles City is moving closer to becoming a safer and more sustainable environment with lawmakers pushing to ban genetically-modified organisms (GMO) both for sale and planting.

A City Council committee agreed to meet Tuesday to discuss the draft ordinance, its effects on retail consumerism and urban agriculture.

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Proposition 37 was initiated by Councilmen Mitch O'Farrell and Paul Koretz, who both believe that Los Angeles needs to become GMO-Free Zone to sustain farm crops without resorting to artificial methods.  Approximately 50 organizations and community members including those from the Arts, Parks, Health, Aging and River Committee supported the recommendation.

In a preliminary meeting held Monday, O'Farrell and Koretz backed up Proposition 37 and 52 percent of Los Angeles voters were in favor of the plan. Only council member Joe Buscaino voted against the proposal, which prompted Council President Herb Wesson to hold further consultation with different committees.

This month, L.A. councilors recommended tax break for property owners who will convert their vacant lots into urban farms.

GMOs are plants and animals whose DNA is altered in laboratories.  Most GMOs are hybrid and are typically less expensive than the organic ones.

Varieties of corn or any grains that are patented or created in laboratories, as well as other plants resistant to pesticides, are banned for selling and consumption.

Gladys Limon, lawyer for Communities for a Better Environment, argued that GMOs pose threats to consumption and biodiversity. Bob Goldberg, a molecular biologist, argued that hybrid breeding is not different than traditional farming.

No studies so far have directly linked deaths to GMOs aside from the potential to aid food shortage, Goldberg added.

Similar efforts were taken in Vermont where manufacturers are required to label GMO foods. In 2012, California lobbyists failed to pass ordinances mandating proper packaging for artificial genetic mutations.

On November 4, Oregon is set to join the effort in creating GMO-free cities as the state decides on Measure 92, which imposes the labeling of GMO products.

TagsLos Angeles, GMO, Proposition 37, Mitch O'Farrell, Paul Koretz, GMO-free zone