{"id":18296,"date":"2013-11-06T14:12:45","date_gmt":"2013-11-06T14:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecowatch.com\/?p=311109"},"modified":"2013-11-06T14:12:45","modified_gmt":"2013-11-06T14:12:45","slug":"washington-votes-down-initiative-522-to-label-gmo-foods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leedpoints.com\/green-building-blog\/washington-votes-down-initiative-522-to-label-gmo-foods\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Votes Down Initiative 522 to Label GMO Foods"},"content":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

Washington state voters on Tuesday rejected an initiative that would have required foods containing genetically modified organisms<\/a> (GMOs) to be labeled.<\/p>\n

Had it passed, Initiative 522<\/a> would have made the state the first in the nation to require such labeling.<\/p>\n

The vote was 54.8 percent opposed to labeling and 45.2 percent in favor of it, USA Today<\/em> reported<\/a>. The measure led in only three counties.<\/p>\n[caption id=\"attachment_311113\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\"]\"The<\/a> The initiative campaign put Washington at center stage in debates over both genetic engineering and the role of out-of-state funding in elections. Photo credit: Shutterstock<\/a>[\/caption]\n

Opponents of the measure, backed by Monsanto and other large agribusinesses, outspent proponents by a ratio of nearly 3-to-1, making the initiative campaign the costliest in state history<\/a>. The No on 522 campaign brought in $22 million in donations, and the top five contributors<\/a> were the Grocery Manufacturers Association, Monsanto, DuPont Pioneer, Dow AgroSciences and Bayer CropScience.<\/p>\n

The largest donor to the pro-labeling campaign were California-based Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps<\/a> and the Center for Food Safety<\/a> in Washington, D.C. However the initiative garnered almost 30 percent of its funding from individuals in Washington state, the Seattle <\/em>Times<\/i> reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Win or lose, this is a long war,” said<\/a> David Bronner, CEO of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, the initiative’s biggest donor. “Labeling<\/a> is inevitable.”<\/p>\n

Rep. Cary Condotta (R-East Wenatchee) and a co-chair of the “Yes” campaign, told the Seattle Times<\/em> there is an upside to the election—90 percent of Washington residents now know what (GMOs) are. “The movement continues,” he said.<\/p>\n

Consumers have a right to know what’s in their food, supporters contend. <\/p>\n

“Sooner or later, one of these is going to pass. It’s only a matter of time. At some point the industry is going to get tired of pouring this kind of money into these campaigns,” Marion Nestle<\/a>, a professor of nutrition at New York University, told USA Today<\/em>.<\/p>\n

She said she doesn’t believe there’s anything dangerous about genetically engineered foods but is concerned about corporate control of the food supply.<\/p>\n

The Food and Drug Administration does not require foods containing genetically engineered ingredients to be labeled because it considers them “functionally equivalent” to conventionally grown crops.<\/p>\n

Visit EcoWatch’s GMO<\/a> <\/strong>page for more related news on this topic.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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