GMO-labeling discussion even got into Jewish dietary restrictions

The most surprising, to me, part of my story today about a law proposing GMO labeling was the final bit:

The most unusual argument in favor of the bill came from Rabbi Robin Nafshi of Temple Beth Jacob in Concord, who discussed concern that eating genetically modified foods might violate the Talmudic prohibition known as kilayim, which forbids the mixing of wool and linen in clothing, as well as some cross-breeding of plants and animals. Jewish people who seek to follow this interpretation of kilayim can’t avoid genetically engineered foods without labels, she said.

“In order to know if there is violation . . . we have to know if the food we seek to eat has been genetically modified,” she said.

This is why being a reporter is fun: Always learning new stuff.