Frankenfood

Proposition 37 Defeated By 53% of California Voters

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Labels not required Photo: Faul/Flickr

$46 million spent by Big Agriculture and all we get is the same old food labels. California’s Proposition 37, the “Right to Know” initiative which would require genetically modified foods to be labeled, was struck down in last night’s election, with 53% of state voters standing against the measure. Agriculture biotechnology giant Monsanto lead the blindside against this bill, spending over $8 million dollars of its own money in a fight that sought to convince shoppers the measure would make their groceries more expensive, aided by several more bankrolls from companies like Dupont, Kellog’s, Dow, PepsiCo., General Mills, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and arguments from farmers, grocery chains, and even The L.A. Times.

The Light Side of the Force was backed by spending in defense of the measure from Mercola and The Seed Savers Exchange’s Kent Whealy, with endorsements from Alice Waters and many of her peers in the restaurant industry.

In the end, opponents of Proposition 37 spent over $45 million to defeat it, compared to supporter’s $8.9 million, ultimately keeping consumers from their “Right to Know” and possibly denying the proposal from influencing similar measures in additional states.

Kind of a shame, losing this opportunity for greater transparency at the supermarket. More than likely, more moneyed shoppers will just stick to Whole Foods, while the average citizen keeps buying what gets dealt out at Von’s and Ralph’s. At least we got Denise Huxtable back for a minute.

Proposition 37 Defeated By 53% of California Voters