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News :: Elections & Legislation |
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Oregon Measure To Label Genetically Engineered Foods Voted Down |
Current rating: 0 |
by Sehvilla Mann and Danielle Chynoweth
Email: urbanaimc (nospam) yahoo.com (verified) |
06 Nov 2002
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Measure 27 which would have required food producers to label genetically engineered ingredients in food produced or sold in Oregon lost in one of the most expensive opposition campaigns in the history of the state. Oregon would have been the first state to require such labelling. The labelling measure was fought by food and biotechnology companies such as Monsanto, Dupont, General Mills, and Pepsi, who formed the Coalition Against the Costly Labelling Law. The campaign spent over five million dollars, outspending labeling advocates 25 to 1. |
 GMO2-loss.mp3 (1756 k) |
[What follows is a full transcript of the attached audio]
VO:
Measure 27 which would have required food producers to label genetically engineered ingredients in food produced or sold in Oregon lost in one of the most expensive opposition campaigns in the history of the state. Oregon would have been the first state to require such labelling. The labelling measure was fought by food and biotechnology companies such as Monsanto, Dupont, General Mills, and Pepsi, who formed the Coalition Against the Costly Labelling Law. The campaign spent over five million dollars, outspending labeling advocates 25 to 1. Craig Winters, the executive director of The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods, a major proponent of the measure, explains the defeat.
:20
Winters: By repeating a lie over and over again and having the budget to put it on TV over and over again, and us not having the money to come back and say, no that's not right, they're misrepresenting the facts, they were able to make that lie stick basically and convince Oregon voters that the price of their groceries was going to go up.
VO: Most of the opposition's budget was spent in the last few weeks on TV and radio ads such as this one:
Ad: Measure 27 would force farmers to use a complex, misleading labeling scheme no other state requires. It would increase our production costs, increase food prices, and put Oregon farmers at a competitive disadvantage. It would also cost taxpayers millions for more government bureaucrats and red tape.
VO: The opposition estimates that mandatory labeling of Genetically Engineered foods would cost more than five hundred dollars a year for a family of four. The proponents of labelling, as well as academics, have placed the cost at less than 10 dollars a year per person, using figures from countries such as Australia, where labeling is required. But supporters say that the fundamental struggle over labelling is whether consumers are able to choose if they eat genetically engineered food. John Stauber, the executive director of PR Watch in Madison, comments.
Stauber: We hear giant companies like Dupont and Monsanto always praising the market, the free market, but the market can only work if people are able to make informed choices. And surveys show that once people find out that this food has not been adequately safety tested, and may not be safe for humans and the environment, they're not interested in eating it. Frankly the genetic engineering industry is totally opposed to the free market in this instance, and wants to literally force genetically engineered food down our throats which they've been doing.
VO: In the wake of defeat, labeling advocates are applauding the national attention the issue has received. Winters explains.
Winters: Even though we lost the actual iniative battle, we won, we feel, in regards to raising awareness of the issue in the country. Before Meaure 27 was on the ballot in Oregon, very few Americans were really aware of this and as a result of Measure 27 being on the ballot in Oregon, all the major media around the coutry has run articles on it so there are millions of Americans who weren't aware of the issue before who are now aware of the issue.
VO: The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered foods has made its next step to introduce labelling laws on the city, county, and state levels throughout the country. Winters explains why:
Winters:
VO: Advocates will also continue their campaign on the national level. Democrats, Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and Senator Barbara Boxer of California both plan to introduce labelling initiatives early in the next congressional session in the Spring. National legislation would have far reaching consequences since 70% of food eaten in the United States contains genetically engineered ingredients. This is Sehvilla Mann with Danielle Chynoweth for Free Speech Radio News. |
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Yeah, But The Pigs Won! |
by ML
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
06 Nov 2002
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I'm not talking about the Republicans taking back the US Senate.
Rather, a constitutional amendment to prohibit confining pregnant sows in tiny stalls passed with 55% of the vote in Florida, a state that re-elected the corrupt brother of the pResident as governor. So there is hope for measures such as the one that failed in Oregon to come around again more successfully.
For more info:
http://www.bancruelfarms.org/ |
