The campaign to stop compulsory labelling of genetically modified (GM) food in Washington broke state records for fund-raising. The campaign to force labelling must have come close to breaking state records for squandering poll leads. In September 66% of Washington’s voters said they intended to vote for Initiative 522, which would have placed a conspicuous label on most foods containing GM ingredients sold in retail outlets. Final results are not yet in (and the “yes” campaign has not conceded), but the measure appears to have lost by about ten percentage points.
Those who decry the influence of money in politics will find a lot to chew over here. Proponents of the measure could stake a reasonable claim to have run a grassroots campaign. They raised about $8.4m; this included large donations from such august bodies as Dr Bronner’s Magic Soaps of California, but also 13,000 individual contributions (median contribution: $25). In outraising them by about three to one, meanwhile, their opponents relied heavily on contributions from food companies and biotech firms (and broke campaign-finance laws, according to the state’s attorney-general). They raised money from just four individuals. (All figures date from late October.)
All that money paid for a slick, well-run campaign and a lot of television ads, focused on the costs and inconsistencies of I-522….
I just gotta answer this. The issue was rather convulsed by the proponents who initially started with the idea that people should be able to see what was in the stuff they were buying. Unfortunately that was sidetracked. If they had kept to the European labeling idea they (we) might have won. Still the real issue of GMOs is: Do consumers have a right to know what is in the packaged and other foods they buy?
For me any my household, I choose Organic as much as possible.
James Morgan
Olympia, WA (proud and sometimes humble member of the Olympia food Co-op!)