Oregon’s food fight is just getting started.
A ballot measure that would require the labeling of genetically modified foods has already seen significant amounts of cash raised by businesses on both sides of the issue, according to campaign finance filings, even though the election is more than two months away.
A committee formed to fight the Oregon measure, ‘No on 92,’ has raised more than $300,000 in cash contributions so far. Half of that amount — $150,000 — was donated by the Grocery Manufacturers Association, an industry trade group. Those numbers only reflect contributions through the end of July.
Oregon Right to Know, which sponsored the measure, has raised more than $1.4 million in cash contributions through the end of July, nearly half of which was raised last month, according to campaign finance filings. Mercola.com, the centerpiece of Joseph Mercola’s natural foods business which includes a variety of branded products, contributed $350,000.
If recent history is any guide, the money in Oregon is just an appetizer. A group opposed to a similar measure in Washington last year, Initiative 522, won its fight, and along the way made that ballot measure campaign the most expensive in state history.
Read the full, original article: Money begins to flow in Oregon over its GMO ballot measure
