Proposition 37: Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Engineered Foods

Proposi'on 37: Mandatory Labeling of Gene'cally Engineered

Foods

A California Ballot Measure

  Requires Front of Package label for GMO:   “Gene%cally Engineered”   “Par%ally Produced with Gene%c Engineering”   “May be Par%ally Produced with Gene%c Engineering”

  Prohibits Natural labeling:   “Natural” “Naturally made” “Naturally grown” “All natural”   For all GMO products   For all processed foods, including canned, smoked, pressed,

cooked, frozen, dehydrated, fermented, milled, etc.

Proposi'on 37: California Right to Know Gene'cally Engineered Food Act

  Foods cer%fied as organic   Foods consis%ng of or derived en%rely from animals   Alcoholic beverages   Foods eaten away from home   Foods made using GE processing aids or enzymes

Proposi'on 37: California Right to Know Exemp'ons

  Effec've date for label changes: July 1, 2014   Exemp'on for processed foods un'l July 1, 2019:

  Contain 10 or fewer GMO ingredients; and   No single GMO ingredient accounts for more than 0.5% of the

food’s total weight

  ASer July 1, 2019   Threshold drops to 0%

Proposi'on 37: Timing and Thresholds

  State, local or private par'es   Injunc%ve relief   No need to show:

  Inadequate remedy at law   Irreparable harm   Individual injury   ONLY need to show failure to label product containing GE materials

  No requirement to give no%ce to aUorney general or alleged violator no%ce

  Plain%ff can recover aUorneys’ fees and costs   California Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA)

  Damages – actual, res%tu%onary and puni%ve   Must give alleged violator 30 days no%ce and

opportunity to cure

Proposi'on 37: Enforcement

Real Intent? Ban Ag Biotechnology

“label would be the equivalent of a skull and crossbones”

-Joseph Mercola, mercola.com

“If we pass this initiative… we will be on our way to getting GE-tainted foods out of our nation's food supply for good.”

-Organic Consumers Association

Ini'al Polling

Most voters have heard something about GMOs, but few are well-‐informed

Q3.

Total Yes 72%

Have you seen, heard, or read anything about genetically engineered foods, also called genetically modified organisms, or GMOs?

Yes, a great deal

Yes, a liUle

No, have not seen/heard anything

Conceptually, California voters overwhelmingly support a labeling law

Q6.

Total Favor 83%

Total Oppose 11%

In general, do you favor or oppose requiring labels on genetically-engineered foods or foods containing genetically-engineered ingredients?

Ini'al Support for the Measure was Strong (Feb 2012)

Q6.

Total Yes 64%

Total No 29%

25%

21%

4%

3%

18%

21%

8%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Definitely yes

Probably yes

Undecided, lean yes

Undecided, lean no

Probably no

Definitely no

Undecided

Total Yes 50%

Total No 42%

22%

11%

4%

4%

22%

30%

8%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Flaws of the Measure Benefits of G.E Foods

Total Yes 36%

Total No 56%

Focusing on “flaws” provoke greater opposi'on than a frame about the benefits of G.E. foods

The Strategy

  Focus on provisions and flaws of Proposi%on 37

  Safety of Biotech foods: Reinforcement message, but not key to winning

The Campaign

Broad, Ac've Coali'on Engaged

 More than 160 organiza%ons opposed to Proposi%on 37

 Micro-‐coali%on of 500 scien%sts, doctors, academics and Nobel Prize winners

Online Campaign: Ads, Infographics

Targeted Mail

Television and Online Video

Yes on 37 Ad

Public Polling

California Business Roundtable and Pepperdine University Poll

9/26: 67% yes; 22% no

10/30: 39.1% yes; 50.5% no

Final Vote: 47%Y, 53%N

Television Advertising

  “Net net, we believe consumers con%nue to voice their concerns about GMOs and think this debate will persist regardless of the Prop 37 outcome . . . . “

  Efforts underway in Washington, Oregon, Connec%cut & Vermont

Is it Over?

  Pressure against FDA

  “I think we’re going to get some victories in the next 12 months, and this will put addi%onal pressure on the federal government.”

  88% of corn   94% of soybeans   40-‐70% of all food sold in grocery stores   34% of all food expenditures, adjusted for

exemp%ons

  GMO Ingredients: •  Corn flour, oil, starch & syrup

•  Fructose, dextrose, glucose, beet sugar

•  Soy flour & protein

•  Vegetable protein and oil

•  Canola oil

Compliance: What Foods Would Have Been Affected?

1.  Label 2.  Comply   Non-‐GMO counterpart ingredients   Organic counterpart ingredients   Subs%tute ingredients

3.  Sue

Compliance Op'ons

1.  Free Speech 2.  Express Preemp%on – USDA Products 3.  Implied Preemp%on – FDA Products   Field preemp%on   Implied conflict preemp%on – frustra%on

of purpose   Implied conflict preemp%on -‐

impossibility

Legal Challenges

“If we pass this initiative… we will be on our way to getting GE-tainted foods out of our nation's food supply for good.”

  1 Billion people are undernourished   By 2050, we will have two more

Chinas to feed   Only about 12% more land, most of it

marginal, is available to put into produc%on globally

  Each year, lack of food kills more people worldwide than war, AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined

Proposition 37: Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Engineered Foods

News & Politics

Transcript of Proposition 37: Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Engineered Foods