GMO Labeling Bill Denounced By Grocery Manufacturers Association


GMO labeling legislation in Washington State is gearing up to be quite a battle. The citizen led I-522 initiative has foes with deep pockets. The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and Monsanto are allegedly once again plunking down big money to keep genetically modified food from becoming a reality.

The I-522 GMO labeling bill is opposed staunchly by the Grocery Manufacturers Association, to a tune of $472,500 so far, according to a Food Democracy Now report. The GMA, Monsanto, and Dupont all donated funds to the failed Prop 37 genetically modified food labeling campaign in California last year. The GMA reportedly gave approximately $2 million to fight the California bill. Monsanto has reportedly donated $242,156 to the opposition of the Washington State GMO labeling movement. Fellow biotech giant Dupont has reportedly donated $171,281 to the same cause.

During the genetically engineered food labeling battle in California, Monsanto spent a total of $8.1 million to keep the status quo inside the grocery store. Dupont chipped in with about $4.9 million to keep Prop 37 from becoming law. In all, $46 million was spent to thwart the GMO labeling initiative in California, many predict a similar amount of money will be spent in the Washington State GMO battle.

An excerpt from a Food Democracy Now release about I-522 reads:

“Right now Monsanto and the GMA are building a war chest to defeat GMO labeling in Washington and they’re using the same team that lied to us in California. Think they have something to hide? We’re very close to victory and they know it. After 20 years of silencing America’s right to know what’s in our food, the biotech industry is getting desperate to stifle the growing number of Americans who are demanding labeling of genetically engineered foods!”

Major retails who are members of the Grocery Manufacturers Association include Coca Cola, Kraft, and General Mills. A GMA spokesmen recently stated that Americans have a “high degree of confidence” in the food supply in the United States.

How do you feel about the Washington State I-522 GMO labeling legislation?

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