In The GMO World Post Election Day

Mother Jones

From GMOs to Soda Taxes, Here's What the Election Means for Your Fridge Mother Jones  - ‎30 minutes ago‎ States and localities nationwide voted yesterday on a host of hot-button food and agriculture issues, from GMO labeling to soda taxes to food stamps.

Statesman Journal

GMO labeling still too close to call Statesman Journal  - ‎11 hours ago‎ The measure would require raw and processed food sold in Oregon to carry a label if it contains genetically modified ingredients.

KITV Honolulu

Maui Defies Monsanto, Passes Ban on GMO Farming Bloomberg  - ‎2 hours ago‎ Voters on the Hawaiian Island of Maui passed the nation's first-ever ballot initiative targeting genetically engineered food following a campaign in which opponents of the measure, including corporate giants Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences—outspent ... Brazil's big soy exporters await payment offer from Monsanto STLtoday.com  - ‎21 hours ago‎ Monsanto, the Creve Coeur-based agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation, said in a statement on Oct. 23 that 500 companies had agreed to help police royalty payments in Brazil, an arrangement that highlights the increasingly complex ... Monsanto, wheat growers seek settlement extension Capital Press  - ‎Nov 4, 2014‎ Soft white wheat farmers filed several lawsuits against Monsanto in 2013 after an Oregon farmer discovered wheat growing in his field that had been genetically engineered to withstand glyphosate herbicides, a trait that was never deregulated by USDA. Monsanto Appeals Directly To Consumers In New Ad Campaign St. Louis Public Radio  - ‎1 hour ago‎ It's part of an effort at Monsanto to improve the St. Louis-based company's image. Earlier this year the Harris Poll on corporate reputations ranked Monsanto third worst in the country, just behind BP. Monstanto CEO and chairman Hugh Grant said part of ... Settlement between growers and Monsanto delayed agprofessional.com  - ‎4 hours ago‎ Soft white wheat growers filed multiple lawsuits against Monsanto in 2013 after an Oregon farmer discovered wheat in his field that resisted applications of glyphosate.

BIG REJECTION OF GMO IN HAWAII ELECTION

Published on

Wednesday, November 05, 2014

by

Common Dreams

Hawaiians Win Community GMO Victory Over Monsanto

GMO bans pass in counties in Hawaii and California, while millions in industry spending drown out labeling efforts in Colorado

by

Lauren McCauley, staff writer

Maui residents in late October protested Monsanto's heavy pesticide use. (Photo: Babes Against Biotech/ Facebook)

Residents of Maui County in Hawaii, frequently referred to as 'GMO Ground Zero,' claimed a victory Tuesday evening when a measure to ban the planting of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) passed with 50.2 percent.

Agribusiness giants Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences, which for decades have run enormous growing and testing operations on the island, spent nearly $8 million dollars to defeat the ban, making it the most expensive campaign in Hawaii's history, according to Honolulu Civil Beat. 
Known as the Maui County Genetically Modified Organism Moratorium Initiative, the measure will ban all GMO growth, testing or cultivation in the county until an environmental and public health study is conducted and finds the proposed cultivation practices to be safe and harmless.

"I think that this is a really strong message to the entire agrochemical industry in the state of Hawaii that we are no longer going to sit idly by and watch them expand their operations without the kinds of regulations that ensure the health and safety of people across Hawaii," Ashley Lukens, who directs the Hawaii chapter of the Center for Food Safety, told Civil Beat.
Hawaiians have become increasingly concerned over GMO crop production and how its associated heavy pesticide use impacts the health of both people and environment. Over 80 different chemicals are sprayed on GMO fields, which ban proponents warn, creates billions of untested chemical combinations which then spread into "our neighborhoods, oceans, reefs, groundwater, drinking water, food supply and bodies."

Last year, the Hawaiian Department of Health tested the surface water around the island and pesticides were found in 100 percent of the samples. According to official election results, the moratorium passed with just over 1,000 votes. In comparison to the millions raised in industry dollars by ban opposition group Citizens Against the Maui County Farming Ban (CAMCFB), supporters of the initiative raised just under $65,000.

A GMO ban also passed in the community of Humboldt County, California on Tuesday, marking the third county in California to pass such a prohibition. Efforts to mandate the labeling of GMOs faced a windfall in outside, industry spending in both Colorado in Oregon. In Colorado—where corporate contributions lead by Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer topped $16 million—the measure lost 66.78 to 33.22 percent.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the race over Measure 92 in Oregon was still too close to call, with the opposition leading 50.9 to 49.1 percent with 86.3 percent of votes counted. 

Multinational food and agriculture companies such as PepsiCo and Monsanto poured over $18 million into that race, shattering previous election spending records.

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Source:  http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/11/05/hawaiians-win-community-gmo-victory-over-monsanto

GMO LABELS - MASSIVE, EXPENSIVE WAR TO KEEP AMERICANS FROM KNOWING WHAT'S IN THEIR FOOD WHEN 64 NATIONS ALREADY LABEL IT

Center for Research on Globalization

Monsanto has eye on election day battles over GMO labeling, cultivation STLtoday.com  - ‎10 hours ago‎ The folks at Monsanto will be eagerly watching election results in several states Tuesday as the battle rages on over how we treat genetically modified foods.

Science 2.0

Biofortification: The New 'Green Revolution' Of Genetically Engineered, More ... Science 2.0  - ‎17 hours ago‎ Recently, several new biofortified crops have been in the news: an orange 'super banana' genetically engineered to produce elevated levels of beta-carotene currently undergoing human testing in Iowa; pearl millet bred to contain large amounts of zinc ...

Big Food uses dirty tricks in ballot fights over GMO labeling, soda taxes Al Jazeera America  - ‎Oct 31, 2014‎ On Nov. 4, voters in three Western states will decide four food-related ballot measures that seem to have little in common: The two state-level measures (in Oregon and Colorado) would require genetically engineered (aka GMO) foods to be labeled as such ... Reuters Insight: US jockeys with China over GMO crop issues Reuters  - ‎Oct 31, 2014‎ The Asian nation has become a major buyer of U.S. corn and soybeans in recent years, but has also shown mounting reluctance to accept some genetically modified crops grown by U.S. farmers. China for the last year has been rejecting U.S. corn shipments ...