Biotech Industry Lobbying Blitz Defeats Calif. GMO Labeling Bill

California lawmakers this week narrowly rejected a bill that would have mandated the labeling of genetically engineered foods in the state of California, following heavy lobbying against the measure from the food and biotechnology industries.

The bill, which needed 21 votes to pass the California Senate, garnered 19 votes in favor and 16 against.

Yet its backers say the close vote is actually a victory, given the industry’s efforts to defeat it.

“This is one of the top bills [the food and biotechnology industries] wanted to defeat this year,” Rebecca Spector, West Coast Director at Center for Food Safety, told Common Dreams. “They really wanted kill this bill.

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She added, “We thought it was a huge step forward that the bill made it through several committees all the way to the Senate floor. It’s very difficult to get these kinds of bills through the state, and we were very pleased with the progress.”