After efforts to label genetically engineered foods failed in Oregon and Colorado, I asked Stuart Elway, president of the Seattle-based polling firm Elway Research, what he saw in the numbers, he said it was déjà vu.
“It was polling pretty high, then in the last month it was like I was looking at the Washington experience again: It cratered and lost,” Elway said. “This pattern repeats itself. People initially think it’s a good idea without considering it much, then the campaign against the initiative comes in and spends a gazillion dollars, and they start to have second thoughts.”
Clearly, the money matters a lot. But just as important as the money is the fact that people are willing to change their minds on this issue. When relatively smart people actually start thinking about GMO labeling, they start to wonder why everyone is focused on one kind of genetic modification while giving others a free pass. Why are we worried about transgenes (genes moved from another species), but ignoring cisgenesis, embryo capture, radiation induced mutagenesis, chemically induced polyploidy, somaclonal variation, and gene editing?
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Read full, original article: GMO labeling laws keep failing. Here’s why we can expect more
