Proposition 37 Arguments and Rebuttals | Official Voter Information Guide | California Secretary of State

Proposition 37 Arguments and Rebuttals | Official Voter Information Guide | California Secretary of State:

 

ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF PROPOSITION 37

YES ON PROPOSITION 37—because you should have the right to know what is in your food.

Voting Yes on Prop. 37 means three things

• YOU WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT’S IN YOUR FOOD, and whether your food is produced using genetic engineering.
• FOOD WILL BE LABELED ACCURATELY. Food labels will have to disclose if the product was produced through genetic engineering.
• PROTECTING YOUR FAMILY’S HEALTH WILL BE EASIER. You’ll have the information you need about foods that some physicians and scientists say are linked to allergies and other significant health risks.

The food we buy already has nutritional information on the labels. With Proposition 37, we will have information, in plain language, if the food was genetically engineered, which means the food has DNA that was artificially altered in a laboratory using genes from viruses, bacteria, or other plants or animals.

Because genetically engineered foods are controversial, over 40 countries around the world require labels for genetically engineered foods, including most of Europe, Japan, and even China and India. Shouldn’t American companies give Americans the same information they give foreigners?

There are no long-term health studies that have proven that genetically engineered food is safe for humans. Whether you buy genetically engineered food or not, you have a right to know what you are buying and not gamble on your family’s health. Labeling lets us know what’s in our food so we can decide for ourselves.

PROPOSITION 37 IS A SIMPLE, COMMON SENSE MEASURE. It doesn’t cost anything to include information on a label, and it’s phased in, giving manufacturers time to print new labels telling you what’s in the food, or change their products if they do not want to sell food produced using genetic engineering.

Proposition 37 also prevents the misleading use of the word “natural” on products that are genetically engineered.

Big food manufacturers and agrichemical companies and their lobbyists oppose this measure. Many of these are the same companies that lied to us about the effects of pesticides or fought to keep other information off food labels, such as the number of calories, or how much fat or salt is in their products. Now they want to keep us in the dark about their genetic engineering of our foods.

Whether you want to eat genetically engineered foods or not, PROPOSITION 37 GIVES YOU THE POWER to choose what foods to feed your family. The big chemical companies should not make the decision for you.

Consumers, family farmers, doctors, nurses, nutritionists, and small business people and NEARLY ONE MILLION CALIFORNIANS ALREADY STEPPED UP TO SIGN THE PETITIONS GIVING YOU THE RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT’S IN OUR FOOD. WILL YOU JOIN THEM?

Find out more or join us now atwww.CARightToKnow.org

When you vote on Prop. 37, please ask yourself just one question: DO I HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT IS IN THE FOOD I EAT AND FEED MY FAMILY? The answer isYes on Proposition 37.

www.CARightToKnow.org

DR. MICHELLE PERRO, Pediatrician

REBECCA SPECTOR, West Coast Director

Center for Food Safety

GRANT LUNDBERG, Chief Executive Officer

Lundberg Family Farms