Why California’s Prop 37 Didn’t Pass

What Held Prop 37 Back?

• The Organic Label – Foods that are labeled as 100% organic are precluded from having any ingredient that is genetically engineered or genetically modified. Evidently many voters felt that having this one label was adequate. The problem here is that approximately 80% of non-organic foods in our supermarkets contain GMOs! This pertains not only to processed foods or “bad” foods, but also some fresh fruits and vegetables, such as corn, zucchini squash and papaya. Yes, these are grown from seeds that are genetically engineered as well.   

• The Scientific Research – Plain and simple, it isn’t complete. Over the years there have been animal studies, but many of the studies haven’t been long-term.  In September, alarming research was revealed expounding the dangers of genetically modified maize fed to rats in a new French study; yet controversy continued to plague these results. Still, in quick response to the French research, Russia became the latest country to ban both the use and import of GMOs. At this point in time, countless countries around the world, including the European Union, Japan, Australia, and even China, already have regulations in place for GMOs. How ironclad do the research results really have to be until the American people open their eyes? One would think that the mere hint of dangerous side effects would be enough to have us demand our food be labeled. Obviously not, because many voters felt that mandatory labeling was still premature.

• The Exemptions Attached To The Referendum Were Confusing – In a nutshell, the following items were to be exempt from GMO labeling: organic foods, foods unintentionally made with GMOs, animals fed GMOs, foods processed with small amounts of GMOs, products administered for medical treatment which might contain GMOs, foods eaten in a restaurant and/or alcoholic beverages. With the exclusion of these items from the referendum, consumers were understandably confused. Some exclusions made sense, some seemed to be legal “outs,” and the one concerning medical treatment seemed not to belong in there at all! However, legal-eze is a complex language and GMOs are a complicated issue. For many voters, it all seemed to become too much.

The San Juan Islands of Washington State also voted on GMOs in this past election. Winning with a 61% advantage was Proposition 2012-4, a citizen-led initiative which makes it unlawful to propagate or grow plants or animals that have been genetically modified, and provides for penalties and destruction of such organisms.
Surrounded by water, the San Juan Islands can now enjoy the unique advantage of their crops being protected from the intrusion of airborne non-GMO seeds and pollen contaminating their crops.
Of course, the citizens of San Juan county were voting on their own food. Matters are much more complicated when you are trying to sway the hand of corporate America.

The 4.2 million Californians who voted “yeson37” haven’t changed their minds about the dangers of GMOs.
Those of us across the country who campaigned for Prop 37 to pass and followed the vote so passionately haven’t changed our minds, either.

Change Is On The Way

My teenage son, long complaining that our GMO-free snack cabinet was “empty,” picked up my article  5 Things You Need To Know About GMOs and asked if we could hand out copies for Halloween instead of candy this year. I’d call that big change!

Let’s remember that the movements for organic food and local eating took root and evolved over a period of time.

We can hope that, in time, it will come to pass that it was genetic engineering that was a misguided “fad” of the era, and we can look forward to when it is at long last cast aside.

Let’s hope it will be sooner, rather than later.