After the defeat of Proposition 37 in California, which would have mandated labeling any food that contained genetically engineered (GE) or genetically modified (GMO) foods, Washington state is entering the battle. An initiative called I-522 proposes that all foods produced through genetic engineering sold in that state be labeled. The initiative states that since the vast majority of the public wants to know if their food was produced using genetic engineering, and since consumers have a right to know what's in the food they buy, labeling is necessary. The organization has collected 340,000 signatures, more than the 241,00 required to send the proposal to the Legislature. If the Washington State Legislature does not approve the measure, it will appear on the general election ballot in … [Read more...]
GMO Backlash Against Cheerios
On General Mills' Cheerios Facebook page, thousands of consumers have posted they are boycotting that product because of the company's support for No on 37 in California. Proposition 37, which proposed labeling all foods that contain genetically modified organisms (GMO or GE), failed in a close vote last month. Opponents of the proposal included giant corporations such as Monsanto, General Mills, Bayer, Dupont, and Dow. That group spent more than $45 million, while the group supporting the proposition spent less than $9 million. Consumers who are opposed to genetically engineered ingredients in the foods they eat have been posting on the Facebook page. The GMO Inside Campaign has been encouraging its members to do so. General Mills did have an app that let users comment on what Cheerios … [Read more...]
New Donations Reported to Fight Prop 37
Stacy Malkan of California Right to Know told Food Poisoning Bulletin that new donations to fight Proposition 37 were just reported to the California Secretary of State. Monsanto Co., by far the largest contributor, has donated $4.2 million. The total contributions now total almost $25 million. Almost $23 million has been donated against Prop 37 in the last week. Ms. Malkan said, "the giant pesticide and food companies are afraid of the mothers and grandmothers who want the right to know what's in our food." The "Big 6" pesticide companies: Monsanto, Dow, BASF, Bayer, Syngenta, and Dupont, have contributed $13.5 million so far. And of the twenty largest contributors to the No on 37 campaign, only one is from a company based in California. The organization Coalition Against Costly … [Read more...]
