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This evening at the Slow Food Vassar meeting (8 pm in the faculty commons!) we’re going to be taking a look at proposition 37. But what is proposition 37, exactly?
Proposition 37, or the “Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food Initiative,” would require labels on any food that contained plant or animal material that had been genetically modified in certain ways. There are exemptions- alcoholic beverages are exempt, as are certified organic products, foods containing very small amounts of GMO material, and food served at restaurants.
A huge amount of money is in this fight- supporters of the proposition have raised $3.8 million, while opponents have raised $32.5 million (with $7.1 million donated from Monsanto alone*). Supporters say that we have the right to know what’s in our food, while detractors argue that it will harm industry and create grounds for frivolous lawsuits.
So what do you think? Come to our meeting tonight and discuss prop 37 (and eat some freshly-baked and non-GMO brownies)!
*All numbers and campaign contribution reports come from ballotpedia- it has a nice if cursory summary of the money behind prop 37.
