California Says No to Labels on Genetically Modified Food
Flickr/Frozen Photon This is not what genetically modified tomatoes look like.
Food activists against "franken-food" will have to put a pause on taking down genetically modified products. Voters in California rejected Prop. 37, a law that if passed would have made California the first state to label processed food containing genetically modified ingredients.
Prop. 37 failed 54 percent to 46 percent, the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday.
Michael Pollan, author of bestseller "The Omnivore's Dilemma", told Quartz that this law was the most important food policy decision of the decade.
Supporters argued that shoppers should know what's in the food that they buy, but opponents suggested that the measure would raise grocery bills and ignite irrational fear about genetically modified products.
The World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, and other major scientific organizations have come out publicly and said that genetically modified foods aren't dangerous. Slate published an article claiming that the "demonization of genetically modified crops isn't just scientifically baseless -- it's politically stupid."
For now, activists may just have to travel to Colorado or Washington to ease their anxiety legally.
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