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Why afraid of labels?

At first I was upset that folks wouldn’t have a clearly marked choice regarding genetically engineered (GE) food vs. non-GE food at the supermarket. We have a choice in everything else: low-sodium, low-fat, non-fat, fat-free, gluten-free, high-fiber, sugar-free, etc. Changing labels is a cost of doing business, and companies do it frequently with no increase in the end product. In fact, 67 other countries require GE labeling, so it is already being done.

Now, however, I’m starting to wonder what Monsanto, Dow, DuPont, Bayer and the Grocery Manufacturers Association are afraid of. They are the ones that supply the genetically engineered seed, the Round-Up and other chemicals that are sprayed on the resulting plants, and they have pumped over $17 million into the “No on I-522” campaign.

If they have a product they are proud of, that they think is a boon to the industry, why aren’t they advertising it far and wide instead of trying to hide it? What are they afraid of?

Donna Nordstrom

Hayden

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