Washington State Votes Against GMO Labeling, According To Preliminary Results For Initiative 522
It seems like the “Goliath” of the genetically-modified organism battle – the group of giant food corporations including Monsanto, PepsiCo and Coca Cola – is winning the vote in Washington state so far. After receiving $22 million in backing from these major food corporations, the “No on 522” campaign appears to have won, according to preliminary results.
The legislation in question, known as Initiative 522, would require large food companies to label their food products if they contained GMOs. Votes against Initiative 522 have reached an overwhelming 54 percent; 35 counties out of 39 voted against I522. The vote took place on November 5th.
Genetically-modified organisms are plants or animals with altered DNA that are used to introduce a new crop trait or give plants more resistance to herbicide and pathogens. GMOs can be found in an overwhelming number of foods produced in the U.S., such as corn, soy, chips, cereals, and soft drinks.
Environmentalists and activists in support of Initiative 522 were able to come up with only $8.4 million to fund their campaign. They believed that if Washington state became the first to require such legislation, it would spur other states to follow suit.
A few months ago, support for GMO labeling was higher, but decreased after food companies poured money into their campaign to convince consumers that GMOs were safe, and that labeling their products would force prices up. Brian Kennedy, a Grocery Manufacturers Association spokesman, told Reuters that prices for grocery items in Washington state would rise if the law passed. “[The law] would require tens of thousands of common food and beverage products to be relabeled exclusively for Washington state unless they are remade with higher-priced, specially developed ingredients,” Kennedy said. “The measure will increase grocery costs for a typical Washington family by hundreds of dollars per year.”
Despite an outcry over the potential dangers of GMOs in food, the World Health Organization and numerous studies have dubbed GMOs safe to consume. However, proponents of Initiative 522 believe consumers have a right to know what’s in their food, safe or not. “I want to know so I could choose whether to eat a product and not have them [corporations] mask what they’re doing,” LeRoy Pilant told the Huffington Post. “It irritates me to no end that they brought all this money into the state to mask what they’re doing with our food supply.”
The official result of the voting will be finalized on December 5th.