Monsanto ponies up and Big Ag pulls ahead in GMO labeling horse race

[marmar]

from Grist:



If the GM food labeling battle is a horse race, Big Ag just upgraded to a genetically modified super horse. With wings.

Just a few weeks ago those in favor of GMO labeling in Washington state were in the lead, having raised $3.5 million, nearly four times as much as those opposed. But, as we noted at the time:

The relative weight of contributions, however, is likely to shift rapidly as the Washington initiative approaches its Nov. 5 moment of truth at the ballot box. Last year, the campaign against the California proposition spent $42 million in the six weeks before the vote.

Monsanto validated this prediction last week, dropping $4.6 million into the campaign. Then DuPont Pioneer added another $3.2 million. The groups campaigning to pass the labeling initiative are getting more “in-kind” contributions, that is, use of office space, equipment, and volunteer labor. But the total value of the in-kind donations — around $400,000 — are relatively small. The tides have turned.

It’s one thing to win the money race, and quite another to win at the ballot box. California’s labeling initiative failed by less than 3 percentage points (48.6 percent voting for labeling, 51.4 percent voting against) even though opponents outspent supporters of the initiative five to one. And people in Washington favor the idea of labeling — convincing them to change their minds, or stay home on election day would take a lot of work. The most recent poll suggests that 43 percent of voters will “definitely” vote for the labeling law (compared to just 11 percent who said they’d definitely vote no), and 23 percent say they will “probably” vote yes (compared to 10 percent who said they would probably vote no). ....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://grist.org/food/monsanto-ponies-up-and-big-ag-pulls-ahead-in-gmo-labeling-horse-race/

[JEFF9K]

1. Strict laws against ...

... false advertising would make the amount of money spent less important. This also applies to political campaigns.

[EULU]

2. Monsanto

We surpass Monsanto with your "like me" for the network "Monsanto go home"
FOR A WORLDWIDE NETWORKING ALL GROUPS, PEOPLE und PEOPLES TO SAY NO TO GMO
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Please like as and invite all your friends an and share it! Thank you!

For more information visit http://networkmonsanto.eulu.info

[gopiscrap]

5. Welcome to DU

[Berlum]

3. ...and Obama just named a Monsanto pimp to the occult TPP* negotiations

Major unholy suckage.

* It’s called the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), and it’s a secret trade pact being negotiated completely outside of law, with no congressional authority but with the aim of forcing nations around the world to ban GMO labeling, embrace Monsanto’s GMO crops and keep pharmaceutical prices artificially high to enrich the world’s medication monopolists.

TPP basically gives over Planetary Governance to profit-driven CORPORATIST Shit Wankers, Inc. and ensures we will have generations of poor, rights-deprived, corporately-'educated,' propaganda-saturated PROLES laboring in miserable conditions to serve the Global 1%.

[Berlum]

4. Open wide. Big Ag, Big Chem & Big Gene want to stuff you with occulted Mutant Foodlike Crapola