Aug 11 2012
PROPOSITION 37: The Consumer Right to Know if Our Food has been Genetically Engineered

PROPOSITION 37:  The Consumer Right to Know if Our Food has been Genetically Engineered

 

Proposition 37 is simple. It requires clear labels letting consumers

know if foods are genetically modified. We already have food labels

showing nutrition, allergy information and other facts consumers want to know. This measure simply adds information telling us if food is produced using genetic engineering, which is food modified in a laboratory by adding DNA from other plants, animals, bacteria or viruses. These new traits can potentially increase allergenicity to food products and cause genetic transfer of antibiotic resistance to humans, leaving us more vulnerable to pathogenic diseases, according to the World Health Organization.

 

 The American Medical Association

Called for mandatory pre-market safety testing for all GMOs  in June 2012

GMOs are currently NOT in a mandatory pre-market safety testing regime!

 

 

World Trade Organization

Says GMOs may lead to an undesirable level of control of seed markets by a few giant agrichemical companies.

 

The science community is on our side. Dr. John Fagan with the National Institutes of Health has said that “genetic engineering as practiced today is a crude, imprecise, and outmoded technology. It can create unexpected toxins or allergens in foods and affect their nutritional value.Additionally, Over 75% of all GM crops are engineered to tolerate being sprayed with herbicide. This has resulted in massively increased exposure of farmers and communities to these toxic chemicals. Studies suggest a link between herbicide use and birth defects and cancer, according to Dr. Michael Antoniou of King’s College School of Medicine.

 

Proposition 37 protects Farmers and Small Businesses from Lawsuits. Unlike Proposition 65, which allows and encourages “bounty hunter” lawsuits – lawsuits brought by a trial lawyer who has carefully scrutinized whether or not a store has correctly displayed a warning sign – Proposition 37 places the onus directly on product manufacturers who are responsible for labeling their own packaging, a common industry practice. Farmers and retailers are protected under Prop 37, which states that “any person may rely on a sworn statement from his supplier that their (food or seed) product has not been knowingly or intentionally genetically engineered.”

 

Proposition 37 costs consumers and food product manufacturers nothing. More than 40 countries with over 40% of the world’s population already label genetically engineered foods, including China. In none of these countries did food costs increase because of simple labeling. Proposition 37 gives

packagers 18 months to add a label to their products – a time frame in which most would have changed their packaging anyway. “New package, same product” labels are already common in your local grocery stores today. The assertion that labeling will add new layers of bureaucracy is also absurd – We didn’t see an army of Sacramento bureaucrats created when producers were required to label trans fats, and we won’t with GMOs either.

 

Californians overwhelmingly support GMO labeling. Polls show nearly unanimous support across the political spectrum for labeling of genetically engineered foods. Nine out of ten voters in the U.S. and in California back labeling, according to recent polls (Mellman 2012, Reuters 2010, Zogby 2012). An April poll by San Francisco TV station

KCBS found that 91% of Californians back labeling, including Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Additionally, over 1,000 businesses and organizations have endorsed Prop 37, including farmers, grocery retailers, consumer rights and public health organizations.

 

A Full list is available at www.carighttoknow.org/endorsements

www.CARightToKnow.org 5940 College Avenue, Oakland, CA 94618

Paid for by Yes on 37 For Your Right to Know if Your Food Has Been Genetically Engineered.

Supported by Consumer Advocates, Makers of Organic Products and California Farmers. FPPC ID No. 1342851.

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