Tuesday saw California’s controversial and fiercely fought Proposition 37 defeated in the polls, following a $46 million advertising campaign by Big Food and Ag companies seeking to derail the proposed law. Prop 37, if passed, would have introduced mandatory labelling for foodstuffs containing GM ingredients sold in shops, though concerns had arisen over loopholes in the law which would have meant alcoholic beverages, meat from animals fed on GM grains and some foods served in catering establishments would have been exempt.

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Following the measure's narrow defeat earlier this week, key proponents of the 'Right to Know' campaign said they would continue to struggle to introduce GM labelling in California, which is often treated as a litmus test for laws which are then introduced across a wider area of the US. The United States remains almost the only developed country in the world not to have introduced labelling laws covering GM products, despite the fact the controversial seeds have been grown in the country for 18 years.

Food writer Michael Pollan has pointed out the strange duality that exists in the United States, where GM crops are considered "revolutionary enough to deserve patent protection and government support, yet at the same time the food made from them [is seen as] no different than it ever was, so [does] not need to be labeled." Pollan adds, "It’s worth noting that ours was one of only a very few governments ever sold on this convenient reasoning."

Representatives of the 'Right to Know' campaign said President Obama's re-election may be a source of succour despite the defeat, as he purportedly pro-labelling. The campaign has also lodged a petition demanding a re-evaluation of labelling laws with the Federal Food and Drug Administration.

Greenpeace protests GM licensing in EU

Meanwhile in Europe, protesters have demonstrated outside EU offices to raise awareness of plans to license new GM crops for cultivation in the bloc. Greenpeace activists gathered outside Commission buildings in Brussels on Wednesday (7th November) in yellow hazmat suits to warn legislators against authorising new varieties of GM crops.

The protestors said a Greenpeace-commissioned study has found authorisation of the new crops for cultivation in the EU, where currently only one variety of modified plant is licensed for growing, would result in a significant rise in pesticide use. Figures from the US-based Organic Center show GM crops were treated with 26 per cent more chemicals than conventional varieties in 2008 and the number of herbicide resistant weed species in the US has increased threefold since the 1990s, when the controversial crops were first commercialised. This in turn has led to increases in the use of older, more toxic herbicides.   

The European Commission is currently considering the authorisation of 26 new GM crops, of which 19 have been modified to tolerate applications of herbicides.

Wendel Lutz, a US farmer who travelled to Brussels to speak on the issue of GM crops and herbicide resistance, said, "Europe has a chance to learn from the mistakes made in my country. Every time I've described the difficulties I've experienced on my farm, farmers in Europe have sympathised. And when they hear that the same corporate model could be employed here, they are naturally apprehensive about their own futures. We hope the Commission will recognise these concerns and heed the warning we are here to deliver."

Greenpeace International sustainable agriculture campaigner Lasse Bruun commented on Wednesday, "Today we bring the voices of US farmers and concerned Europeans to Brussels. The European Commission must decide: are they going to protect the farmers and consumers or are they going to side with the agrochemical industry breathing down our necks?"

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