GMO labeling: Don’t take a 'Yes' vote for granted in California

California's Proposition 37 would require mandatory labeling of GMO foods and seems like the perfect solution for a public that believes it has a right to know. So why isn't passage of the bill a done deal?

Fri, Nov 02 2012 at 3:28 PM

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Healthy Eating, GMO

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For weeks now, I’ve been urging you to stand behind California and urge your family and friends who live in that state to vote in favor of mandatory labeling of GMO foods, also known as genetically modified foods. I’ve been convinced the bill would pass because early polling showed that about 90 percent of Americans are in favor of labeling GMOs. Now, it seems that the passage of Proposition 37 isn’t as secure as many people, including me, might have believed. Here are a few things you need to know about it going into your weekend.

LA Weekly is reporting that support for Proposition 37 has been declining in the past couple of weeks.
One reason for the decline in support could be that the big chemical companies are outspending those who support the bill by six times over. The Huffington Post reports on the top spenders, including Monsanto ($8.1 million) and DuPont ($5.4 million).
Yet, Triple Pundit reports that in the past, Monsanto has backed labeling of GMO foods in Europe, saying “we believe you should be aware of all the facts before making a purchase.”
One of my favorite food activists, Robyn O’Brien, makes her case on Moms Rising for why, even though she doesn’t live in California, she’s in favor of Proposition 37. “California represents such a large percentage of our country’s food production. And if labeling is enacted there, it could change the way our food is produced.”
Finally, I make one last plea on my personal South Jersey Locavore blog for non-Californians to urge your California friends and family to vote for Proposition 37. We all have the right to know, and California can help lead us in that direction.

Does anyone else want it to be next Wednesday already so that we’ll know the outcome of this and that other little issue that Americans need to decide, who will be president next January? I certainly do.

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