Almost 55 percent of Washington State voters said they don’t want genetically modified foods to be labeled.
Initiative 522, the measure that would have required product labels to disclose when genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, are included in grocery store items appears to have failed.
As of Wednesday (Nov. 6) almost one million ballots had been counted, representing about a quarter of the state’s 3.9 million registered voters. Washington is a mail-in ballot state and not all ballots have yet been counted.
Because of this the Yes on 522 campaign remains hopeful.
“For now, results are too close to call,” the campaign stated on its website. “Heading into Election Night, Yes on 522 led in the polls, despite being outspent 3-to-1. The campaign remains confident that a majority of Washington voters support labeling of genetically engineered foods…”
Opponents of the initiative claim the measure was too clumsy and would instill fear in shoppers by providing inaccurate, inconsistent and incomplete information.
The No 522 campaign raised $22 million —mostly from the food and biotech industry — making it the highest grossing ballot initiative campaign in Washington history.
The Yes campaign raised $7 million.
Last year California voters shot down a similar initiative, Proposition 37. Connecticut and Maine have passed food labeling legislation, but those laws won’t take effect until other states pass labeling measures. Washington would have been the first state to pass a mandatory food-labeling law for GMOs with no stipulations.
