Tuesday, Nov. 6, was a great day to be a Californian. On that day a lot of my fellow Californians proved they can think for themselves, and they were not fooled. They rejected Proposition 37, a measure that would have mandated that foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) — dubbed “Frankenfoods” by fear-mongering fanatics — be labeled.
The measure was misguided on many levels, as most Americans have regularly consumed GMOs in the form of soybeans and corn for many years with no associated health problems. Many doctors found the proposed legislation so disturbing that the American Medical Association took the extraordinary step of releasing a statement declaring that the labeling of foods containing GMOs is completely unnecessary. That didn’t prevent supporters of the measure from continually warning about the supposed dangers of GMOs, and through the summer and early fall the measure was leading the polls.
But in the end, my fellow Californians weren’t buying the specious arguments, and many Democrats rejected their party’s position on the issue. While President Barack Obama came in with 59% of the state’s popular vote, outdistancing Mitt Romney by a full 20 percentage points, Prop 37 was defeated, 53% to 47%.
Predictably, supporters claimed that opponents bought the victory by raising $45 million and outspending the supporters by over a 5-to-1 margin. But with most of the state’s 17.3 million registered voters having little or no knowledge of GMOs, the opponents had to give a crash course via TV, and that isn’t cheap. Among the ag companies who deserve kudos for their large donations: Monsanto, $8.1 million; DuPont, $5.4 million; as well as BASF, Bayer, Dow, and Syngenta, each with $2 million.
Battle Is Far From Over
While a lot of trends do start here in California, not a lot end here, and such is likely the case with the anti-GMO movement. Just a few days after the election a new coalition, GMO Inside, was formed. They sent out a press release denouncing the millions spent on anti-Prop 37 efforts by major corporations.
They claimed Prop 37 opponents misled voters by saying the law would have raised families’ food bills. Misleading? Do they really expect me to believe food companies were just going to eat the costs of changing the labels themselves? No, and I’m not planning on buying the Golden Gate Bridge, either.
The press release goes on to say Prop 37 opponents “can’t change the fact that over 90% of Americans support the labeling of foods with genetically engineered ingredients.” Really? If that were true, a quick calculation shows pretty much all the people who make up that remaining 9% or less must hail from here in California. Seriously, this group vows to take “the energy from the fight for Prop 37 to the next level.” So be prepared America, but take heart in the Golden State victory, where sound science won the day.