Reposted with permission from MapLight.
The recent announcement from Whole Foods requiring “all products in our US and Canadian stores containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) must be clearly labeled within five years” has prompted discussion about funders to campaigns for and against California’s 2012 failed ballot proposition 37. The measure, if passed, would have required GMO labeling in the state.
DATA: A MapLight analysis of campaign finance data from the California Secretary of State
- Interests in support of and opposition to Prop. 37 raised a combined $55.2 million.
- Prop. 37 supporting interests (incl. Mercola, Nature’s Path, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap, Amy’s Kitchen) raised $9.2 million.
- Prop. 37 opposing interests (incl. Monsanto, Dupont, Pepsi, Kraft Foods, Coca Cola, Dow Agrosciences) raised $46 million.
Prop. 37 FAILED with 6,088,714 (48.6%) YES votes; 6,442,371 (51.4%) NO votes.
YES ON PROPOSITION 37: $9.2 million raised in total
| 1 | Mercola.com Health Resources LLC | $1,199,000 |
| 2 | Kent Whealy | $1,000,000 |
| 3 | Nature’s Path Foods U.S.A. Inc. Fine Natural Food Products | $660,709 |
| 4 | Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps All-One-God-Faith Inc | $620, 883 |
| 5 | Organic Consumers Fund | $605,667 |
| 6 | Ali Partovi | $288,975 |
| 7 | Mark Squire | $258,000 |
| 8 | Wehah Farm, Inc., DBA Lundberg Family Farms | $251,500 |
| 9 | Amy’s Kitchen | $200,000 |
| 10 | The Stillonger Trust, Mark Squire Trustee | $190,000 |
NO ON PROPOSITION 37: $46.0 million raised in total
| 1 | Monsanto Company | $8,112,867 |
| 2 | E.I. Dupont DE Nemours & Co. | $5,400,000 |
| 3 | Pepsico, Inc. | $2,485,400 |
| 4 | Grocery Manufacturers Association | $2,002,000 |
| 5 | Kraft Foods Global, Inc. | $2,000,500 |
| 6 | Bayer Cropscience | $2,000,000 |
| 7 | Dow Agrosciences LLC | $2,000,000 |
| 8 | BASF Plant Science | $2,000,000 |
| 9 | Syngenta Corporation | $2,000,000 |
| 10 | Coca-Cola Company | $1,700,500 |
METHODOLOGY: MapLight’s analysis of campaign finance data from the California Secretary of State as of November 4, 2012.
Top 10 lists were taken from MapLight Voter’s Edge California, a nonpartisan guide to ballot measures. Click here to view a spreadsheet of all contributions for and against Prop. 37.
MapLight Voter’s Edge was made possible in part by funders including the Kaphan Foundation and the James Irvine Foundation.
BACKGROUND: CA Prop. 37 would have required labeling of food sold to consumers made from plants or animals with genetic material changed in specified ways. It would have prohibited marketing such food, or other processed food, as “natural.”
A link to this report can be found here.
ABOUT MapLight:
MapLight is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan research organization that tracks money’s influence on politics.
