Numerous large food and seed corporations sunk over $46 million into the fight to defeat Proposition 37, which would have required food companies to list genetically modified ingredients on the labels of its products sold in retail stores. It would have also prevented the labeling of GMO foods as “natural.” The law would would have affected California, but because Californians make up 12% of the U.S. population, those Californian labels would have spilled over to other states as well. Currently food processors list ingredients, calorie, nutritional value and peanut content. Adding GMO ingredients to that list will benefit those who wish to steer clear, until GMO foods are deemed safe and healthy into the long term (yet many feel certain GMOs will never be proven healthy).
The record keeping necessary for the added labels will also help keep track of ecological issues such as gene flow between GMOs and the surrounding ecology, weed killer's affects, pest and superweed resistance and a host of other ecological issues that could potentially arise with rampant GMO use. This bill would have slowed down the influx of GM crops and help keep track of GMOs impacts.
All is not lost, as there is still hope. GMO Labeling Ballot Initiative (I-522) will be up for a vote in Washington State in 2013.
Currently Europe, Russia, China, Japan, Mexico, Australia and numerous other countries require that food labels list genetically modified ingredients. Why hasn't the the U.S. insisted on this labeling? Because many large corporations are fighting to keep the U.S. consumer in the dark. Let us know, if there are GMOs. We should have the right to know!
Companies and their donations to keep GMO off of labels:
Ironically most of the companies lobbying against Prop 37 have a stake in the organic industry. See that list below, it might surprise you.
Monsanto = $7,100,000.
DuPont = $5,200,000.
PepsiCo Inc. = $2,500,000.
BASF Plant Science = $2,000,000.
Bayer CropScience = $2,000,000.
Dow Agrosciences = $2,000,000.
Syngenta Corp = $2,000,000.
Kraft Foods = $2,000,000.
Coca-Cola = $1,700,000.
Nestle USA = $1,315,400.
ConAgra Foods = $1,200,000.
General Mills = $1,200,000.
Del Monte = $674,000.
Kellogg Co. = $790,700.
Smithfield = $671,000.
Council for Biotechnology Information = $625,000.
Heinz = $500,000.
Hershey Company = $493,900.
J.M. Smucker Co. = $555,000.
Grocery Manufacturers Association = $375,000.
Hormel Foods Corp. = $374,300.
Unilever = $ 460,000.
Mars Food North America = $370,280.
Bimbo Bakeries USA = $422,900.
Ocean Spray Cranberries = $326,500.
Campbell Soup Co. = $320,455.
Pinnacle Foods Group LLC = $266,100.
Dean Foods Co. = $253,950.
Biotech Industry Organization = $250,000.
McCormick & Co. Inc. = $248,200.
Abbott Nutrition (Infant Formulas / Similac) = $230,900.
Rich Products Corp. = $225,500.
Cargill Inc. = $226,800.
Welch's = $167,000.
Knouse Foods Cooperative = $160,300.
W.M. Wrigley Jr. Co. = $116,900.
Sunny Delight Beverages Co. = $114,500.
Tree Top = $110,300.
Bumble Bee Foods = $98,000.
Sara Lee Corp. = $96,800.
Hillshire Brands (Ball Park, Jimmy Dean) = $86,000.
McCain Foods USA = $50,600.
Dole Packaged Foods Co. = $45,580.
Goya = $ 56,100.
Clorox = $33,000.
S & W = $21,100.
BASF, Bayer and Syngenta are subsidiaries of foreign pesticide companies.
Organic (and some Natural) food brands owned by big corporations:
Coca-Cola - Honest Tea, Odwalla, Simply Orange.
Cadbury - Green and Black's Chocolate, Nantucket Nectars.
ConAgra - Alexia, Hunt's Organic, Lightlife (vegetarian and vegan meat substitutes like Smart Deli), Orville Redenbacher's Organic.
Dean Foods - Horizon Milk, Silk Soymilk, Organic Cow of Vermont, White Wave.
(Said to be in control of up to 90% of the milk market in many states.)
General Mills - Cascadian Farms, Cheerios, Food Should Taste Good, Larabar, Muir Glen, Nature Valley.
Groupe Danone - Stonyfield Farm.
Hershey’s - Dagoba Chocolate.
Hain-Celestial - (partially owned by Heinz) Arrowhead Mills, Bearitos, Breadshop Cereals, Casbah, Celestial Seasonings, DeBoles Pasta, Earth's Best, Ethnic Gourmet, Garden of Eatin', Gluten Free, Greek God's, Hain Pure, Health Valley, Imagine Soups, Linda McCartney, Maranatha nut butters, Mountain Sun Juices, Nile Spice Soup, Rice Dream, Sensible Portions, ShariAnn's, Soy Dream, Terra Chips, TofuTown, Walnut Acres, Westbrae Natural, WestSoy, Yves Meatless.
JM Smucker - After the Fall, R.W. Knudsen, Santa Cruz Organic.
Kellogg - Bear Naked, Gardenburger, Kashi, Morningstar Farms, Natural Touch, Wholesome & Hearty. (Kashi cereals contain GMOs!) Kellogs uses genetically engineered sugar beets in its non-organic cereals.
Kraft - Boca, Back to Nature.
Mars/M&M - Seeds of Change
Nestle - Tribe Mediterranean Foods
Pepsi - Dole, Harvest Crunch, Izze, Naked Juice, Ocean Spray, Tazo, Tostito's Organic, Tropicana.
Rich's - Fresh Meadow
Unilever - Ben & Jerry’s, Knorr, Salada
Personal Care:
Clorox - Burt’s Bees.
Colgate-Palmolive - Tom’s of Maine.
Hain Celestial - Alba Botanica, Avalon Organics, Jason, Orjene, Queen Helene, Zia.
Beer:
Anhueser Busch - Stone Mill and Wild Hop.
______________________________
Private/Small Companies 'FOR' GMO labeling:
Only a handful listed. For a larger listing: www.carighttoknow.org
Alvarado Street Bakery - a coop
Amy’s Kitchen
Ancient Organics
Annie's
AppleGate Farms
Aubrey Organics
Bob's Red Mill
Cedarlane
Earthbound Farms
Eden Foods
Equal Exchange - a cooperative
Frey Vineyards
Golden Temple (Yogi Tea & Peace Cereal)
Lundberg Family Farms
Nature’s Path - Canadian company, family owned
Newman's Own
Nutiva
Organic Valley - a cooperative of family farms.
Pacific Natural Foods
Simply Organic
Tofurky
Turtle Mountain (Purely Decadent, So Delicious)
Support for GMO labeling:
Source: Inspiration Green
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