Supporters of Proposition 37, which would require the labeling of genetically modified food, are partnering with the Institute for Responsible Technology to present Speaking Out for Healthier Food, a series of lectures that will take place around San Diego today, tomorrow, and Thursday.

Prop 37 backers say that the prevalence of food allergies in the United States has been on the rise since the introduction of genetically modified food in the 1990s, and that 75 percent of processed foods (including most advertised as “natural”) contain some sort of genetically altered material. They point out that 50 other countries require laboratory engineered food to be labeled.

These topics will all be discussed by speakers Jeffrey Smith, an expert on genetic modification and founder of the Institute, and Tom Newmark, an environmentalist and co-founder of the group Sacred Seeds.

Earlier this month, the Reader covered the proposition and some of its local donors. A cited Ballotpedia article says that Prop 37 would “Require labeling on raw or processed food offered for sale to consumers if the food is made from plants or animals with genetic material changed in specified ways” and “Prohibit labeling or advertising such food as ‘natural.’”

A wide range of exemptions to the measure would include foods that are “certified organic; unintentionally produced with genetically engineered material; made from animals fed or injected with genetically engineered material but not genetically engineered themselves; processed with or containing only small amounts of genetically engineered ingredients; administered for treatment of medical conditions; [or] sold for immediate consumption such as in a restaurant; or alcoholic beverages.”