It's easy to see why opponents are spending so much. If mandatory labeling were to go into effect in California, the infrastructure necessary for companies to put it into place would likely mean the end of the national debate over GMO labeling. And consumers might choose to avoid foods that contain GMOs, as happened in the European Union when a similar measure took effect in 1997. If food companies have to look for alternatives to genetically modified soy, corn, wheat, and other processed food ingredients, it will disrupt business as usual.

Surprisingly, even organic companies stand to lose if Prop 37 passes. Why? Currently, organic certification is the only regulated way to market a food product as GMO-free. If regulation of GMO labeling is extended to non-organic brands, certified organic brands could lose a huge competitive advantage they currently enjoy, as the only verified source of non-GMOs.



That, presumably, is a big reason why parent companies of many leading organic brands -- Silk, Horizon, Cascadian Farms, to name a few -- are contributing to the No on Prop 37 campaign, a revelation that has dismayed and angered some shoppers. Organic companies that support Prop 37, in fact, are probably doing so against their financial interest.

That said, with activist organizations like the Cornucopia Institute publicly praising and shaming organic-food companies based on their opposition to GMO labeling -- and even for staying neutral on the issue -- a show of financial support of Prop 37 might also be good for business. A $50,000 contribution to the California Right to Know campaign by the organic meat purveyor Applegate, for instance, moved it from Cornucopia's "On the Sidelines" category to the "Organic Heroes" list.

The force of popular opinion has also caused some former enthusiastic supporters of food biotech to pull back -- for instance, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. In a press release last week, the Academy denounced the California Voter Guide for falsely claiming that the Academy "has concluded that biotech foods are safe."

Worldwide, more than 60 countries have passed GMO labeling laws, but the U.S. is a special prize in the GMO wars, both symbolically and strategically. This is the birthplace to many of the technologies in question, and home to most of the companies that profit from them. Many saw the federal regulations created in the USDA's National Organic Program as a major milestone in the history of the food movement, and thought that the new institutional credibility for organic agriculture would give "little food" the tools to compete with "big food." But if anything, it gave big companies an entry point into smaller companies' territory. Major corporations launched their own organic products or bought up existing organic companies -- profiting on a larger scale than anyone from the fastest-growing segment in the food retail sector.