LA Times Opposes California's Proposition 37

By CnAgri2012-10-09 19:57:07 Print

California's Proposition 37 has received much national attention due to expectations that similar laws might proceed elsewhere if it were approved by Golden State voters. The ballot initiative has also garnered significant attention because of the large amount of money spent on advertising by both sides of the issue.

According to Drovers CattleNetwork, opponents to Prop 37, however, welcomed support from California抯 largest daily newspaper last week, The Los Angeles Times. The paper endorsed a 'no' vote, calling the proposed law 'problematic on a number of levels.'

Specifically, the paper claims America rushed headlong into producing (GM food) with lax federal oversight, and although many studies have been conducted over the last couple of decades, a 2009 editorial in Scientific American complained that too much of the research has been controlled by the companies that create the engineered products.

But the LA Times finds a laundry list of reasons to reject Proposition 37, and calls the proposal 'sloppily written.' The paper cites the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office claiming the language in Proposition 37 could be construed by the courts to imply that processed foods could not be labeled as natural even if they weren抰 genetically engineered.

Additionally, the paper noted that most of the burden for ensuring foods are properly labeled would fall not on producers but on retailers, which would have to get written statements from their suppliers verifying that there were no bioengineered ingredients - a paperwork mandate that could make it hard for mom-and-pop groceries to stay in business. Enforcement would largely occur through lawsuits brought by members of the public who suspect grocers of selling unlabeled food, a messy and potentially expensive way to bring about compliance.