Big Organic and its anti-biotechnology campaign have suffered some big losses lately. First there’s Hawaii, where a federal judge just struck down Kauai County’s law requiring labels on genetically improved foods (GIFs), also called GMOs. It’s an major victory for the island, where activists have waged county-by-county wars to ban—or at the very least, slap a warning label on—GIFs in the Aloha state.
We have written extensively about the abundant flaws of a GIF label mandate: Labels are expensive for manufacturers and producers, they’re inherently deceptive, and they needlessly stigmatize products, to name just three arguments. The consensus amid credible scientific bodies is that GIFs are just as safe as their conventionally grown counterparts. GIF labels are therefore not a food safety issue. Instead, as one activist aptly noted, organic companies hope they will operate as a “skull and crossbones” that drives customers into the open arms of Big Green Greed.
But Hawaii isn’t the only state where pro-label quacktivists are taking a hit. According to a report from Forbes Magazine this week, “The most enlightened liberal thinkers and the progressive publications in key states are joining with the science establishment to oppose mandatory labeling.”
The piece suggests that liberal Americans are beginning to see Europe as a model to avoid, rather than imitate: Because of GIF labels, European customers now face higher food prices, fewer product choices, and a greater reliance on more toxic pesticides.
This November, Oregon and Colorado voters will decide on mandatory GIF labels. Let’s hope once again science triumphs in these states.
