Agricultural News
Agriculture Keeping Eye on Prop 37 Vote in California on November 6
Tue, 16 Oct 2012 06:42:49 CDT
California could become the first state to require labeling of any food sold in the state containing ingredients made from genetically modified crops. California voters will make that decision on November 6th and polls have shown strong support for Proposition 37. But as the vote nears - that support appears to be waning. A new survey by the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy and the California Business Roundtable shows support for the so-called Right to Know measure has dropped from 66.9-percent to 48.3-percent in just two weeks. The survey shows opposition has increased to 40.2-percent - up from 22.3-percent.
Both sides have taken to the air waves to tell their message- here's a commerical produced by those who want Proposition 37 adopted:
Meanwhile, the opposition to Proposition 37 is spending heavily on its message to defeat the proposal. Unlike the commercial in the video box above, which was all about emotion and feeling good about what you feed your family- the "no" forces are looking at the inconsistencies in how Prop 37 is written, suggesting it would be a nightmare to enforce, very costly and would provide few benefits back to consumers:
Even if the voters of California decide against mandatory labeling - pressure is mounting on the federal government to tighten regulation of GMO crops and the foods they become. A national labeling campaign is underway. The Center for Food Safety filed a legal petition seeking mandatory labeling for GMO foods last year. The Food and Drug Administration has received more than 1.2-million comments in support of that petition. The Organic Consumers Association said last week it was delivering a petition with the backing of 200-thousand consumers calling on President Obama to require labeling. In addition - 14 states considered new bills on labeling or banning GMO foods last year. Federal regulators have repeatedly deemed any labeling or regulatory safety testing unnecessary.
To read up on the arguments of both sides- here are their websites- click here for the Vote Yes coalition. For the coalition that has been organized to fight Proposition 37, click here for their website.
One of the more interesting op-ed pieces we have read on the subject is on the Los Angeles Times website- click here to read the opinion piece that calls the effort to get Prop 37 passed as the utlization of "weapons grade junk science."
Finally- if you want to read the actual text of Proposition 37, click here.
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