If you haven't heard yet, California's Proposition 37 did not pass, therefore there will be no mandatory labeling of genetically modified food, well....yet. The ballot initiative dramatically gained attention leading up to the vote as massive amounts of opposition commercials hit the airwaves. Corporations not supporting the initiative spent more than $46 million, compared to the mere $9 million raised by organic advocates, activists and the general public. And while the narrow margin of the vote - 47% for labeling, 53% opposed - still doesn't push the initiative into action, it's a lot closer than expected, but a loss is still a loss.
Here are 5 takeaways from yesterday's vote from Marc Brush of New Hope 360:
1. Consumers do prefer natural food,
but they don't particularly care right now about what that means.
Whether this apathy manifests in the rampant abuse of natural product
claims or our dogged lack of transparency concerning GM ingredients,
mainstream consumers will vote for natural in polls but not on ballots,
and only at the shelf if the price is right.
2. You really can buy the vote in America, at least on
the rough and tumble terrain of state politics. Whether you view the
opposition's messaging as consumer education or a nefarious
disinformation campaign, the fact remains that $46 million in organized
advertising tabled this initiative. In this light, food reformists need
concern themselves much more with campaign finance reform and the
mechanisms of politics than they ever have in the past. You could even
argue that there is no true food reform without political reform first.
3. Most of the leadership in natural & organic
food did not step up to the plate for this initiative. For whatever
reason—imprecise language, litigation exposure, economic pressure—only a
small handful of companies contributed meaningful levels to this
particular cause. Spotlight on Nature's Path, Dr. Bronner's and Lundberg
Family Farms for giving until it hurt.
4. This is not a death blow for the non-GMO movement, but let's be honest. It's serious. California was the state
to make this happen, and now it serves as a very public proxy for the
country's lack of conviction around this topic. If I was in the business
of agitating for GM labeling, I would now focus the lion's share of my
efforts and resources on Just Label It at the national level.
5. What exactly did that $46 million buy the companies
who spent it? Time, and time alone. Given the escalating awareness
surrounding this issue, the global call for labeling in most developed
countries, and the relentless drive for transparency across
industries but especially in food, the prospect of unlabeled GM food in
America is increasingly remote. Another few years of it, however, makes
that $46 million money well spent.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
What To Takeaway From Prop 37's Defeat
Labels:
California,
food,
food labels,
GMO,
GMO labeling,
label GMOs,
Marc Brush,
natural,
New Hope 360,
Organic,
Prop 37
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