No surprise here: junk food lobby wants federal ban on GMO labels. Major food conglomerates want to stamp out state-by-state efforts to label foods containing genetically modified ingredients with federal legislation.
Maine and Connecticut have passed preliminary labeling laws, while California and Washington state have rejected such laws. Last year, the anti-labeling lobby spent $55 million fighting the California bill. This year, they spent $22 million in Washington State. Hollow Victories, Radical Warriors. Washington GMO-labeling initiative flames out. Opponents of Washington state’s initiative to label genetically engineered food effectively crushed the measure under a giant pile of money.
As of this writing (with 1 million ballots counted of about 1.3 million total votes cast), Washington’s measure 522, which would have required prominent labels for foods containing genetically engineered ingredients, was losing by 9 percentage points, which amounted to nearly 50,000 votes, out of about a million votes cast. Opponents of the initiative outspent supporters by about 3 to 1.
Results are here. The basic outlines of this campaign follow those of a similar attempt to pass a GM labeling bill in California last year. That’s no surprise, because food businesses promised to repeat the performance. Millions Against Monsanto: Five Lessons from the Battle Against GMOs. For related articles and more information, please visit OCA's Millions Against Monsanto page .
Twenty years after the controversial introduction of unlabeled and untested genetically engineered foods and crops, opposition to GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) and Monsanto has created one of the largest netroots-grassroots movements in the U.S. There are arguably more important issues facing us today than the battle against Frankenfoods. The climate crisis and corporate control over the government and media come to mind. But the rapidly growing anti-GMO Movement illustrates the powerful synergy that can develop from the combined use of social media, marketplace pressure and political action. Organic Consumers Association. In a day and age of slick marketing and profits before ethics, it’s nice to know there are a few companies still run by real people with a real conscience.
Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, a fifth-generation family-owned business, believes consumers should have the right to know if their food, or other products, contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). So the Bronner Family has donated $2 million so far to YES on I-522, the campaign to pass a GMO labeling initiative in Washington State. Pledge to boycott the brands that are fighting GMO labels! · Boycott the Traitor Brands! GMO labeling: Trick or treat? Voters in Washington state have already begun casting their ballots to decide whether to label genetically modified foods.
The official vote on the initiative is on Nov. 5. Twenty-three other states are considering something similar. Tell Naked Juice to Get Serious About Honest Labeling. A copy of your letter of support will be delivered to the the CEOs of Naked Juice and PepsiCo and a copy will also be given to the court on your behalf: Dear Naked Juice and PepsiCo, I urgently request that you remove the Mayo Clinic and local Legal Aid groups as the designated non-profit beneficiaries in the Naked Juice Class Action Lawsuit settlement (In re Naked Juice Cases) and replace them with Food Democracy Now!.
While the Mayo Clinic and local Legal Aid group are very fine non-profits, they do not work on accurate labeling. It is a fundamental right of American consumers to be able to purchase products that are accurately labeled and we need organizations that are helping us pursue this goal. We will win in Washington! Ronnie Cummins on Turning the Tide Against Monsanto! Why GMO labeling won’t increase food prices. Next month, voters in Washington will decide whether their state will be the first in the nation to require labeling of foods with genetically modified ingredients.
In this debate, a key point of contention is whether food costs would rise if I-522 passes. The opponents of the measure — Monsanto, Dupont, other agribusinesses, and many food manufacturers — assert that food costs for the average family would increase by several hundred dollars a year. Analysis of the assertion that food costs would rise reveals a great deal about the food companies and their views of the public. (It’s worth noting, as the Cry Wolf Project has documented, that business groups virtually always make the argument that costs will rise when they oppose regulatory measures.) The claim that food costs would rise is partly based upon a commissioned study by Northbridge Environmental Management Consultants.
At best this is a simplistic economic analysis. At the very least this is a proposition worth testing. Dr. Bronner’s soapbox: Working GMO labels into a lather. Perhaps it’s no surprise that a company famous for filling every available inch of its product labels with words favors adding more words to labels.
The inevitable next step: Creating labels that campaign for more labeling. Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps is one of the biggest donors supporting Washington state’s proposition 522, which would require food makers to label products that might contain genetically modified ingredients. Now Dr. Bronner has created a special label for its quart-sized soaps, promoting Prop 522. I’ve always loved Dr. Guest: Vote yes on I-522 to require labeling GMO food. IN our wired community, we count on easy access to reliable information to make many important decisions in our lives.
In the grocery store, we are able to make informed decisions about whether to buy groceries with natural or artificial flavorings, or fish that was farm-raised or wild-caught, because these products are labeled in these ways. But we currently lack critical information about our groceries because we don’t know which products contain genetically engineered ingredients and which do not. Initiative 522, which voters will decide in the Nov. 5 election, would solve this problem by labeling foods processed with genetic engineering, enabling shoppers to make informed decisions for themselves and their families. The fight over engineered food lands in Washington. A national fight over labeling of genetically engineered foods is touching down in Washington this fall, fueled by money from organic and food-safety advocates.
On the other side, large agribusiness and food industry groups are giving mightily to efforts that oppose Initiative 522. Stop the Secret Trade Deals: the Monsanto Protection Act on Steroids. If you thought the Monsanto Protection Act was bad, the secret trade deals called the TPP and TAFTA are a global nightmare. Right now two secret trade agreements, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA), also called the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), are being negotiated behind closed doors like this spring when the Monsanto Protection Act was passed.
Just as we are on the verge of winning GMO labeling in the US, these secret negotiations could eliminate the ability of countries around the world to label GMOs or impose common sense restrictions on the sale of genetically engineered seed and food in their countries if Monsanto and other biotech companies get their way. They could also make it illegal to label GMOs in the U.S., placing the decision in the hands of corporate lobbyists and Monsanto GMO stooges. Demand an end to secret trade deals, stop the fast track of TAFTA and the TPP. OGM et Nouvel Ordre Mondial: Monsanto, Pepsi et Nestlé en campagne contre l’étiquetage des OGM. Organic Consumers Association: Statement on GMA Lawsuit and Food Corporations' Donations to NO on I-522. For related articles and more information, please visit OCA's Millions Against Monsanto page, Genetic Engineering page and our Washington News page.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 21, 2013 CONTACT: Organic Consumers Association, Katherine Paul, 207.653.3090; or Zack Kaldveer, 510-938-2664. Organic Consumers Association: Statement on GMA Lawsuit and Food Corporations' Donations to NO on I-522.